Active hot standby redundancy for broadband wireless network

ABSTRACT

In embodiments of the present disclosure systems and methods implementing active-hot standby redundancy in server architectures are described. In an active-hot standby redundancy architecture, two matching service instances are installed in a network on different host computers. A standby service instance may maintain state information for every session maintained at an active service instance that it is poised to replace using a publish-subscribe communications network. When a failure occurs in the active instance, the standby instance may promote itself to active, and assume all aspects of the service identity and role of the Active instance it is replacing. Service to user entities continues without interruption, although transactions that are ongoing just as the failure occurs may be lost.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/016,289, filed Sep. 9, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/667,424, filed Nov. 2, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,565,689), which claims the benefit of the following provisionalapplication: U.S. Provisional Application 61/659,174, filed Jun. 13,2012. Each of the above applications is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to broadband networks, and more specifically tomethods and systems for increasing bandwidth in a large area broadbandnetwork.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Wireless networks are deployed ubiquitously across the globe, with eachnew standardized air interface supplying ever higher data rates tousers. However, the popularity of data applications, and especially ofvideo applications, is becoming so great that even the high data ratesand increased capacity offered by 3G and 4G networks do not meet thecurrent and expected demands for bandwidth. Several factors combine tomake it difficult to meet these user demands. One is the air interfaceitself. New standards such as 3GPP (Third Generation PartnershipProject) LTE (Long Term Evolution), offer the possibility of providinguser data rates of up to 10 Mbps, 20 Mbps, or even higher. However,because of the way users are generally distributed across the coveragearea of a transmitting Cell, an average Cell throughput of around 13Mbps may be expected. This is not enough to supply video services tomore than a handful of users. Hence, it is necessary to improve theutilization of the LTE air interface. Furthermore, inter-cellinterference caused by the overlap of RF signals between transmittingCells reduces the data rates and capacities that may be provided tousers who are located in the boundaries between Cells. Any method ofreducing, or eliminating, this inter-cell interference will improve thesystem capacity and throughput, and offer improved quality of service tothese users. Another factor is the over-utilization of the back haulfacility that connects an LTE Base Station (eNB) to the Enhanced PacketCore (EPC) network. Facilities that operate at one Gbps may not bedeployed to reach all base stations, and hence, a moderate number ofusers of video applications may easily use so much back haul bandwidththat other services cannot be provided to the remaining users. Anotherfactor is the way in which servers are deployed to bring services towireless users. These servers are external to the wireless network, andmay be located at great distances from the user access point in thewireless network. Long packet transit delays (latency) between theservice program that runs on the server and the user access point in thewireless network may result in a poor user experience in using theservice.

The US Government needs to take advantage of the plethora of new userdevices being produced to run on new wireless networks like LTE. It isbecoming less attractive for the Government to use proprietary systemsfor their wireless communications needs. The expense involved inacquiring new spectrum, and the coincidence of needs of US Governmentusers and of general users, suggest that a standard LTE network be usedconcurrently by both types of users. In this shared system, during anemergency, it is necessary for the Government to be able to implementprioritized access for authorized government use of the network, or of apart of the network, necessarily excluding use for non-governmentpurposes when capacity is exhausted. This behavior may not be availablein today's wireless networks to the degree required by the government.Furthermore, government and commercial applications are more and moreusing sensors of all types to gather information. A wireless networkthat has the ability to acquire, process, store, and redistribute thesensor data efficiently and quickly is not available. Also, duringmilitary operations, or during emergencies, the ad hoc deployment of anLTE wireless network may be the best way to provide wireless service toemergency responders, to US armed forces, or to the general public. Anad hoc network may use airborne base stations that are deployed abovethe disaster area, or area of operation. In the case of an airborne adhoc network deployment (or of other deployments involving mobile basestations), the network must be kept running as the airborne, or mobile,base stations need to be taken out of service because of low fuel orpower, or because of loss of the airborne, or mobile, vehicle.

SUMMARY

Ordinarily, a mobile cellular device (e.g., a cell phone) accessing aservice though an application server (e.g., streaming a video to thecell phone) incurs communication latency associated with traversal ofthe backhaul network from the base station to a public data networkgateway (PGW) system, plus traversal of the network from the PGW systemacross the Internet to the application server. In embodiments, theserver (the ‘optimization server’) is incorporated within the wirelessnetwork in association with the PGW, which may be deployed in regionalareas, and thus reduces the time-latency for applications being run fromthe mobile device. Further, by placing additional optimization serversat the base stations, application functionality may be optionallytransferred from the ‘regional optimization server’ to the local ‘basestation optimization server’, such as in instances where a number ofmobile devices are requesting the same data via their access through thesame cell. That is, traditionally each mobile device would get its owndedicated bearer back through the wireless network to the externalserver that hosts the desired application, and because a number ofmobile devices transfers the same content, the number of replicatedbearers carries the same application data multiple times across thewireless back haul network, and thus becomes an inefficiency and aburden on the system. In embodiments, this may move the streamingapplication source to the base station optimization server andeliminate, or minimize, the utilization of the wireless back haulnetwork, thereby lowering latency for applications, and increasing thebandwidth available on the back haul network for other services.

In embodiments, a set of server computer nodes may be deployed withinthe LTE Wireless Network at the PGW locations and at the eNB locations,interchangeably referred herein as an optimization server (OptServer) orpriority and optimization processor (POP). The OptServers may beintegrated into the LTE Wireless Network via their common managementwith the LTE network elements, via their ability to communicate with theLTE network elements to retrieve network state information and to impactthe behavior of the LTE network elements, and via their participation inthe communications procedures that normally occur between the userequipment (UE) and the LTE Network Elements, and between the LTE networkelements, e.g., Initial Access procedure, Service Request Procedure, X2Handover Procedure, S1 Handover Procedure, Detach Procedure.

In embodiments, the collection of OptServers may implement a platform onwhich to run service programs that provide services to users as do theservers that are typically located far from the user point of access tothe LTE network, thereby reducing delays in providing user services,and, in many cases, minimizing or avoiding the use of the LTE Back Haulnetwork in carrying packets between the UE and the service-providingprograms. Using the integration with the LTE network elements toretrieve network state information, and using that information to alterthe behavior of the service-providing programs that run on theOptServer, the user experience may be improved in receiving services viathe LTE wireless network. E.g., changing the encoding used to delivervideo packets to a UE based on the current RF conditions experienced bythe UE. Service-providing programs that provide, for example, real timevideo, real time gaming, and the like, may be offered providing lowerdelays in packet transit than using traditional servers located remotefrom the LTE wireless network. These lower packet transit delays may beachieved by associating the Optimization Server with a centrally locatedPGW element, such as through providing the Optimization Server with highspeed connections to the PGW, locating the Optimization Server inproximity to the PGW, co-locating the Optimization Server with the PGW,and the like. Further, locating the PGW and Optimization Server elementsregionally, rather than centrally, may further reduce the packet transitdelays between the UE and the service-providing programs that may run onthe Optimization Server.

In embodiments, service-providing programs that provide, for example,real-time video, real time gaming, and the like, may be offeredproviding their services with minimal use of, or without incurring anyuse of, the LTE back haul network to exchange packets between theservice providing program and the UE. The use of the LTE back haulnetwork to convey packets between the service-providing program and theUE may be minimized, or eliminated entirely, by using OptimizationServers that are associated with the eNB elements, such as throughproviding the Optimization Server with high speed connections to theeNB, locating the Optimization Server in proximity to the eNB,co-locating the Optimization Server with the eNB, and the like.

In embodiments, the system may have the ability to redirect a UE bearerat the serving eNB element, so packets are conveyed to and from anOptimization Server associated with the serving eNB element, rather thanbeing conveyed over the LTE back haul to a serving gateway (SGW)element, a PGW element, and then to a remotely deployed server. AnOA&M-style (i.e., non-standardized) interface may be used to the eNBelement to effect the bearer redirection. In embodiments, a standardizedinterface may be used for this purpose, whenever such interface may bedefined in the 3GPP standards.

In embodiments, for a redirected bearer, the eNB may retain the GenericTunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel information previously used to establisha UE bearer tunnel with an SGW element, so the information is availablefor use in handover procedures when the UE is in handover to another eNBelement. Handover processing therefore may include maintaining thebearer information at the target eNB that was used at the source eNB toestablish a bearer that is subsequently redirected, thereby avoiding theneed to re-establish a bearer at the target eNB to use as a redirectedbearer at the target eNB location when the handover is completed.

In embodiments, the system may have the ability to quickly redirect abearer from an Optimization Server associated with one eNB instance toan Optimization Server associated with a second eNB instance when the UEis in handover from the first eNB instance to the second eNB instance.

In embodiments, the use of the Optimization Server associated with thePGW element, or in some other convenient centralized location, may beused as a control point for redirecting the UE bearers. The use of acontrol program, called herein a Wireless Control Program (WCP), whichruns on the OptServer PGW element may implement the control of therequired UE bearer redirection at the eNB through which the UE accessesthe LTE wireless network.

In embodiments, a short set of message exchanges may be used between theUE and the WCP for the purpose of providing the WCP with the UE C-RNTIidentity at its serving eNB element, with the UE IMSI unique identifier,with the Cell Identity (and therefore also the serving eNB Identity) ofthe Cell through which the UE access the LTE network, and the like.

In embodiments, a message exchange between the WCP and the UE may beused to cause the UE to establish a dedicated bearer to be usedsubsequently as a redirected bearer, thereby separately keeping in placethe bearer used for communications between the UE and the WCP. The useof a message exchange between the UE and the WCP may be used to informthe WCP of the bearer ID of the bearer to be used as a redirectedbearer.

In embodiments, a short exchange of messages between the WCP and the eNBmay be used to serve the UE to effect the redirection of one or more UEbearers to an OptServereNB element that is associated with the servingeNB element. The use of a server IP address in this message may allowthe deployment of more than one OptServereNB element to be associatedwith a given eNB element.

In embodiments, a message exchange between the eNB element and the WCPmay be used to inform the WCP that a requested bearer redirection hasbeen accomplished, and the subsequent communication of a message fromthe WCP to the UE may inform the UE that the redirected bearer is nowavailable for use by the UE service programs. The ability of the UE tostart a plurality of services that make use of this redirected bearermay achieve lower service packet delays, improved back haul utilizationin receiving service packets, or both.

In embodiments, interactions between the UE and the WPC may be embeddedwithin the LTE standard handover processing for the purpose of havingthe UE stop service interactions via the redirected bearer at theOptServereNB instance associated with the source eNB, for informing theWPC of the new serving eNB and Cell ID value and the new C-RNTI valuefor the UE, so the WPC may interact with the target eNB to effect theredirection of the UE bearer to an OptServereNB that is associated withthe target eNB, and for informing the UE to resume service sessionsusing the redirected bearer at the target eNB element.

In embodiments, a program (e.g. the UE Wireless Coordination Function)may be included within the UE software that coordinates the UEactivities in the LTE Wireless Network with the WCP program thatcontrols the redirection of the UE bearers. The inclusion of amodification of the UE LTE processing software may be provided so it hasan ability to interface with a Wireless Coordination Function that runsin the UE for the purpose of interacting with the WPC. Specifically, theUE LTE software may be able to inform the UE Wireless CoordinationFunction that the Handover Command message has been received from thesource eNB, and where the UE synchronization with the target eNB isdelayed slightly until the UE Wireless Coordination Function is able tostop the services it is receiving via the redirected bearer at thesource eNB element. The inclusion within the UE LTE processing softwaremay provide the ability to inform the UE Wireless Coordination Functionthat the Handover Confirm message has been sent to the target eNB,thereby causing the UE Wireless Coordination Function to send the newCell ID (including the target eNB ID) and the new C-RNTI value to theWPC program. The WPC program may then interact with the target eNB toeffect the redirection of the UE bearer at the target eNB, and the WPCmay thereafter interact with the UE Wireless Coordination Function toinform it that its service interactions via the redirected bearer mayresume (at the OptServereNB associated with the target eNB).

In embodiments, the use of publish-subscribe communications may be usedto effect a single-stream transfer of service packets (e.g., streamingvideo and audio packets) via the LTE back haul network to anOptimization Server associated with an eNB element, and from that point,the delivery of the video and audio packet stream to a multiplicity ofUEs that are connected to the Optimization Server via the LTE airinterface and the associated eNB element. The use of the LTE back haulnetwork may thus be minimized in providing a common service to amultiplicity of UEs.

In embodiments, methods and systems may comprise a first cellularwireless RF base station node in RF communication with a mobile device,the first cellular wireless RF base station node having a RF coveragearea and at least one base station optimization server; a secondcellular wireless RF base station node, the second cellular wireless RFbase station node having a RF coverage area and at least one basestation optimization server; a regional optimization servercommunicatively connected with a public data network gateway (PGW) andadapted to (a) run an application for providing services to the mobiledevice and (b) transfer the application's functionality for the mobiledevice to the at least one base station optimization server of the firstcellular wireless RF base station node based on a usage characteristicof the mobile device; and a wireless control facility communicativelyconnected with the regional optimization server and at least one of thefirst and second cellular wireless RF base station nodes; wherein therespective RF coverage areas of the first and second cellular basestation nodes overlap and the wireless control facility is adapted tomanage during a mobile device handover of the mobile device from thefirst to the second cellular wireless RF base station node (a) theapplication's connectivity with the mobile device, and (b) theapplication's functionality transfer to the at least one base stationoptimization server of the second cellular wireless RF base stationnode. In embodiments the transfer of the application's functionality maybe a transfer of a service providing node of an application, or of aservice distribution node of an application.

In embodiments the transfer of the application's functionality mayenabled through redirection at the first cellular wireless RF basestation node of at least one mobile device bearer into a redirectedbearer, so that packets are conveyed to and from the first cellularwireless RF base station node's at least one base station optimizationserver rather than being conveyed over a backhaul network through aServing Gateway (SGW) and then through the PGW to the regionaloptimization server, and wherein the wireless control facility isadapted to interact with (a) the mobile device to establish a bearerthat is to be used as the redirected bearer and (b) the first cellularwireless RF base station node to redirect a specific user bearer to thatnode's at least one base station optimization server. The first cellularwireless RF base station node may be adapted to retain general packetradio service tunneling protocol (GTP) tunnel information which waspreviously used to establish the mobile device bearer tunnel with theSGW and thereafter with the PGW. The system may be adapted to use theretained GTP tunnel information in handover procedures as the mobiledevice moves from the coverage area of first cellular wireless RF basestation node to the coverage area of the second cellular wireless RFbase station node. The retained GTP tunnel information may eliminate theneed to re-establish a bearer during a handover. The wireless controlfacility may be adapted to implement the redirection of the at least onemobile device bearer through a wireless control program.

In embodiments the transfer of the application's functionality may beenabled through redirection at the first cellular wireless RF basestation node of at least one mobile device bearer into a redirectedbearer, so that packets are conveyed to and from the first cellularwireless RF base station node's at least one base station optimizationserver rather than being conveyed over a backhaul network through aServing Gateway (SGW) and then through the PGW to the regionaloptimization server, and wherein a LTE system may use pre-provisioneddata for the mobile device to cause the LTE network to establish abearer that is to be used as a redirected bearer, and the wirelesscontrol facility adapted to interact with the first cellular wireless RFbase station node to redirect the specific user bearer to that node's atleast one base station optimization server.

In embodiments the wireless control facility may be adapted to interactwith the mobile device during a handover from the coverage area of thefirst cellular wireless RF base station node to the coverage area of thesecond cellular wireless RF base station node, and wherein the system isadapted to permit the mobile device to disconnect from the base stationoptimization server of the first wireless RF base station before themobile device synchronizes with the second wireless RF base stationnode, and the wireless control facility is adapted to interact with (a)the mobile device to convey an IMSI, a cell identity, and a C-RNTI valueof the mobile device to the second cellular wireless RF base stationnode, and (b) the second cellular wireless RF base station node toredirect a user bearer to the at least one base station optimizationserver of the second cellular wireless RF base station, and (c) themobile device to cause the mobile device to resume services at the atleast one base station optimization server of the second cellularwireless RF base station node.

In embodiments the at least one base station optimization server of thefirst cellular wireless base station node may comprise a first basestation optimization server having a unique IP address and a second basestation optimization server having unique IP address. In embodiments,the first wireless RF base station node may have a multiplicity of basestation optimization servers, each having a unique IP address, where thewireless control facility may direct the first wireless RF base stationnode to use a specific base station optimization server to terminate auser redirected bearer.

In embodiments the at least one base station optimization server of thesecond cellular wireless base station node may comprise a first basestation optimization server having a unique IP address and a second basestation optimization server having unique IP address. In embodiments,the second wireless RF base station node may have a multiplicity of basestation optimization servers, each having a unique IP address, where thewireless control facility may direct the second wireless RF base stationnode to use a specific base station optimization server to terminate auser redirected bearer.

In embodiments the usage characteristic may be a threshold value for thenumber of mobile devices requesting identical publish-subscribeapplication services in the coverage area of the first cellular wirelessRF base station node.

In embodiments the transfer of the application's functionality mayenable a publish-subscribe application service to a plurality of mobiledevices being served by the at least one base station optimizationserver of the first cellular wireless RF base station node. Thepublish-subscribe application service may be adapted to provide asingle-stream of service packets to the plurality of mobile devices. Thesingle-stream of service packets may be at least one of streaming videopackets and streaming audio packets.

In embodiments at least one of the at least one base stationoptimization server of the first cellular wireless RF base station nodeand the at least one base station optimization server of the secondcellular wireless RF base station node may be co-located with itsrespective one of the first and second cellular wireless RF base stationnodes.

In embodiments at least one service program may be adapted to retrievenetwork state information from at least one wireless system networkelement. The at least one wireless system network element may compriseat least one of a mobility management entity (MME), a cellular wirelessRF base station, and any mobile device, which may or may not be theaforementioned mobile device. The network state information may includeinformation about the RF conditions being experienced by the mobiledevice and the system is adapted to use the network state information tomodify the behavior of the application to alter the encoding rate fordelivering video information to the mobile device based on the networkstate information.

In embodiments the transfer of the application's functionality mayreduce time-latency of the services provided by the application to themobile device.

In embodiments the transfer of the application's functionality mayreduce use of backhaul communications bandwidth. The reduction in use ofbackhaul communications bandwidth may reduce delivery time for a servicepacket that traverses the backhaul network.

In embodiments the wireless control facility may be adapted to interactwith the mobile device to (a) identify the cell through which the mobiledevice is accessing the wireless network, (b) obtain the Cell-RadioNetwork Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) by which the mobile device isinstantly being identified, and (c) obtain the International MobileSubscriber Identity (IMSI) of the mobile device.

These and other systems, methods, objects, features, and advantages ofthe present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and thedrawings. All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated intheir entirety by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The disclosure and the following detailed description of certainembodiments thereof may be understood by reference to the followingfigures:

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment typical deployment of LTE network elements.

FIG. 2 depicts adding optimization servers to the LTE network.

FIG. 3 depicts redirecting a UE bearer at the eNB.

FIG. 4 depicts redirecting a dedicated bearer at an eNB.

FIG. 5 depicts a high-level view of LTE handover processing.

FIG. 6 depicts integrating a change of the optimization server duringLTE handover processing.

FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of an airborne eNB deployment.

FIG. 8 depicts replacing an airborne eNB without loss of service to UEs.

FIG. 9 depicts an example embodiment where cell coverage area is scannedwith 16 RF beams every 4 msec.

FIG. 10 depicts an embodiment LTE TDD uplink/downlink configuration.

FIG. 11 depicts an example embodiment illustrating a 4 msec beamrotation in an FDD system to support H-ARQ operation.

FIG. 12 depicts an example embodiment of a delivery of a real-time eventservice to six wireless users.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of the publish-subscribe brokerarchitecture.

FIG. 14 depicts an example embodiment of a deployment of P/S brokers inthe APN optimization server architecture.

FIG. 15 depicts a real-time event service using the P/S brokerarchitecture and APN bearer redirection.

FIG. 16 depicts a keep-alive message interaction for service instancestate monitoring.

FIG. 17 depicts an embodiment deployment of a streaming movie deliveryservice on the APN optimization servers.

FIG. 18 depicts an example embodiment for finding the closest SMDservice instance and delivery movie streams to UE.

FIG. 19 depicts an example embodiment for streaming a movie deliverywhen download from a central store is required.

FIG. 20 depicts an example embodiment for detaching roaming UEs when acell is restricted for government use.

FIG. 21 depicts elements and interfaces to implement dual usecapabilities in an LTE network.

FIG. 22 depicts an embodiment UE application for biometric testing.

FIG. 23 depicts an initial phase of automated UE detachment from a cellwith CB-for-GU enabled: detach roamers.

FIG. 24 depicts an example embodiment for automatically detaching lowpriority UEs from a barred cell.

FIG. 25 depicts an example embodiment including biometric testing whencell barring is first enabled.

FIG. 26 depicts an example embodiment for initial attach processing whena UE accesses a cell that may have CB-for-GU enabled.

FIG. 27 illustrates an embodiment for modification of a networktriggered service request in a dual use network.

FIG. 28 depicts an example embodiment for a processing addition to theLTE service request procedure in a dual use network.

FIG. 29 depicts an example embodiment addition to the X2 handoverprocedure in a dual use network.

FIG. 30 depicts an example embodiment addition to the S1 handoverprocedure in a dual use network.

FIG. 31 depicts an example deployment of conferencing functions on theoptimization servers in the APN LTE wireless network.

FIG. 32 depicts an embodiment for an ad-hoc network deployment for anemergency action scenario.

FIG. 33 depicts a functional view of an embodiment emergency actionservice architecture involving sensor processing.

FIG. 34 depicts an embodiment deployment view of an emergency actionservice architecture involving sensor processing.

FIG. 35 depicts an embodiment for starting an emergency actionmultimedia conference.

FIG. 36 depicts an embodiment for participants joining a conference andjoining their sessions.

FIG. 37 depicts a fixed sensor data collection, analysis, and alarmgeneration and distribution.

FIG. 38 depicts an embodiment for finding an image server instance,initiating and using the image service in the emergency action scenario.

FIG. 39 depicts an embodiment for obtaining the UE data rate priorityvalue and updating the eNB with the value for the initial access case.

FIG. 40 depicts an embodiment for obtaining the UE data rate priorityvalue and updating the eNB with the value for the service request case.

FIG. 41 depicts an embodiment for obtaining the UE data rate priorityvalue and updating the target eNB with the value for the handover case.

FIG. 42 depicts an embodiment for updating the UE data rate priorityvalues when data rate priority service is enabled at the serving cell.

FIG. 43 depicts an embodiment for updating the UE data rate priorityvalues when data rate priority service is disabled at the servicingcall.

FIG. 44 depicts an embodiment of an architecture for collecting,transporting, and further processing the billing data that may becollected on the APN Optimization Servers.

FIG. 45 depicts an embodiment of a message exchange that enablesprograms to collect and report billing data for usage via a redirectedbearer.

FIG. 46 depicts an embodiment of a message exchange that enables billingdata collection programs to learn when to stop their collecting actionswhen a UE goes to the ECM-IDLE state.

FIG. 47 depicts an embodiment of a message exchange that enables billingdata collection programs to learn when to stop their collecting actionswhen a UE becomes detached from the LTE Network.

FIG. 48 depicts two adjacent Cells, and shows the overlap of the RFtransmissions of each Cell into the coverage area of the other Cell,thereby illustrating the concept of Inter-Cell Interference.

FIG. 49 depicts a hexagonal representation of a Cell, wherein the Cellcoverage area is divided into four sets of four sub-areas (i.e., sixteensub-areas overall), and where each sub-area is covered by an RF beamthat is generated by the Cell antenna system using Agile Beam formingtechniques.

FIG. 50 depicts the three Cells of an example base station system thatemploys Agile Beam forming, and shows how the RF beam rotation patternin each Cell may be constructed to avoid Inter-Cell Interference at theboundaries of any Cell.

FIG. 51 depicts all the Cells that may be adjacent to a given Cell, andshows how the RF beam rotation pattern in each Cell may be constructedto avoid Inter-Cell Interference at the boundary of any Cell.

FIG. 52 depicts all the Cells in four base station systems that useAgile Beam forming, and shows how the RF beam rotation pattern in eachCell may be constructed to avoid Inter-Cell Interference at the boundaryof any Cell, thereby demonstrating that Inter-Cell Interferenceavoidance may be extended to all the Cells in the wireless network.

While methods and systems have been described in connection with certainpreferred embodiments, other embodiments would be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art and are encompassed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following is a written description of the present disclosure, and ofthe manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear,concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art towhich it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to makeand use the same, and sets forth the best mode contemplated by theinventors of carrying out the disclosure.

The present disclosure is related to a broadband wireless network, morespecifically, to a multi-purpose network, alternatively referred to inthis disclosure as an “All Purpose Network” or “APN,” that is capable ofimplementing a large scale (e.g., national) broadband wireless networkto provide a very high wireless data capacity, and is capable ofresolving all the issues described above. The APN may combine provenleading edge commercial wireless design and architecture methodologieswith advanced RF technologies to substantially improve spectrumefficiency, spectrum usage, and data performance. A unique beam formingtechnique may be used to improve spectrum efficiency and spectrum usage,and part of the methods and systems disclosed herein as part of the APNnetwork may involve orchestrating the periodicity of the RF beams in amanner appropriate to the LTE network. Also, an efficient algorithm forlocating and tracking users within beams may be part of the presentdisclosure. Furthermore, it may be noted that the interference offeredto users in one Cell by transmissions originating in an adjacent Celltypically reduce the quality of service offered to users who are locatednear the boundary between the two adjacent Cells. Part of the presentdisclosure describes how the use of an Agile Beam Forming System in eachof the Cells in an APN network may substantially remove inter-Cellinterference without resorting to special communications between theCells, and without reducing the bandwidth available for use by userslocated in any part of the Cell coverage area. The issues above relatedto service delays, back haul utilization, and server and long haulnetwork utilization may be resolved in the APN network via thedeployment of servers as close as possible to the wireless users,namely, via deployments associated with the eNB (E-UTRAN Node B orEvolved Node B) network elements, such as through providing the serverswith high speed connections to the eNB, locating the servers inproximity to the eNB, co-locating the servers with the eNB, and thelike. Such deployments may require the integration of the servers intothe LTE wireless network operation in the unique manner disclosedherein. When users are allowed to access servers associated with the eNBelements, their bearer packets no longer flow through the ServingGateway (SGW) and public data network (PDN) Gateway (PGW) elements, sopart of this disclosure shows how to preserve the collection of billingdata in these cases. These servers, when integrated into the APNwireless network, may also form the foundation of a platform forgathering, processing, storing, and redistributing sensor data asdisclosed in the present disclosure. Furthermore, the introduction intothe APN network of Publish/Subscribe data communications, as disclosedin the present disclosure, makes it possible to implement the APNnetwork as a Dual Use network, where only government users may beallowed access to portions of the network during a disaster or otheremergency. The present disclosure may also relate to the use of thePublish/Subscribe communications infrastructure of the APN network toimplement Hot-Standby services, which may play an important role inimproving network operation and in improving the user experience. Thepresent disclosure also addresses the issue of how to replace anairborne, or otherwise mobile, eNB base station, while the mobile basestation is in operation.

Integrating an Optimization Server Function into the LTE WirelessNetwork

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment deployment of the network elements that mayprovide the LTE wireless service to users and their user equipment (UE).The eNB 102 elements may be deployed in local areas where their RFradiation can reach the UEs 104. The Mobility Management Entity (MME)108 and the Serving Gateway (SGW) 110 elements may be deployed inregional locations, and handle many (e.g., hundreds) eNB 102 elements.The MME 108 may connect to the eNB 102 elements via the LTE Back Haulnetwork 112, and manage the access of the UEs 104 to the LTE network,and also handle mobility of UEs 104 as they Handover their wirelessnetwork connection from one eNB Cell (antenna) to another. The SGW 110may connect to the eNB 102 elements via the LTE Back Haul network 112,and provide a semi-static connection point for routing packets betweenthe UEs 104 and their targeted Server 124 computers. While the SGW 110may be changed during a UE Handover procedure, in many cases, the SGW110 may remain fixed during the Handover operation. The SGW 110 maymaintain the bearers (utilizing General packet radio service TunnelingProtocol, also referred to as Generic Tunneling Protocol or GTP tunnels)for a UE 104, even when the UE 104 is Idle, and not actively connectedto the network. The PDN Gateway (PGW) 114 may be generally deployed in amore centrally located data center, and interfaces with many (e.g.,hundreds) SGW 110 elements. The PGW 114 may constitute the connectionpoint between a UE 104 and a particular Packet Data Network 122 (e.g.,the Internet), and may not change, even though the UE 104 goes throughmultiple Handover procedures as it moves around the LTE network. TheHome Subscriber Server (HSS) 120 may provide a database of usersubscription data. The Policy Charging and Rules Function (PCRF) 118 maycontrol the allowed connection patterns of each UE 104. The LTE WirelessNetwork boundary thus may include the UE 104, the eNB 102, the MME 108and SGW 110, and the PGW 114, HSS 120, and PCRF 118. The PGW 114 mayinterface to a particular packet data network 122, of which the Internetis one example.

Users typically invoke service programs on their UEs 104, and connect tocomputers (servers 124) that may need to be accessed, for example, viathe Internet. Packets are routed from the UE 104 over the LTE airinterface to the eNB 102, where they may be placed in a particular GTPtunnel (called a bearer 302), and sent to the SGW 110, and then to thePGW 114, and then via the Internet 122 (or other Packet Data Network) tothe Server 124 which is their destination. Packets may then be sent fromthe Server 124 via the Internet 122 (or other Packet Data Network) tothe PGW 114, and then via a particular GTP tunnel (bearer 302) to theSGW 110, eNB 102, and finally to the UE 104 over the LTE air interface.

It is important to note in FIG. 1 that the Server 124 computers thatprovide services to wireless users are typically far away from thoseusers and their UE 104. Hence, packets may suffer the delays involved intraversing the Internet 122, the PGW 114 and SGW 110 network elements,the LTE back haul network 112, as well as the eNB 102 element and theLTE air interface. When congestion occurs at any of those points in thepacket traversal path, the user experience suffers. Furthermore, theServer computers 124 that provide services to wireless users may becompletely separate from the LTE Wireless Network, and cannot collectany data regarding the real-time state of the wireless network (e.g.,the air interface utilization, the LTE back haul utilization at a giveneNB 102, or congestion in the PGW 114 and SGW 110 elements). Today'sServer computers 124 may thus be unable to alter their behavior inresponse to the real-time state of the LTE Wireless Network, and aretherefore unable to use real-time network data to improve the userexperience in using the LTE Wireless Network and in using the servicesoffered by the Server computer.

The present disclosure describes an approach to resolve the issuespointed out above through a server computer 202, 204 (which may be acollection of server computers) that is integrated into the wirelessnetwork at one or more points, and is referred to herein alternately asan Optimization Server (OptServer), or a Priority and OptimizationProcessor (POP). The Optimization Server may be designed as a platformfor running programs that provide services to UEs 104, and thus isequivalent in that respect to the server computers 124 that connect tothe wireless UE today via the Internet, or via another packet datanetwork.

The “integration” aspect may include management via a Network ManagementSystem that also manages the wireless network elements (e.g., the LTEwireless network elements shown in FIG. 1), and also may include havinginterfaces to the wireless network elements for the purpose ofextracting real-time network data, and for the purpose of controllingthe wireless network element in delivering services to the wirelessuser. The real-time network data may also be used to change the behaviorof service programs that execute on the Optimization Server 202, 204,where the changed behavior improves the user experience. As an example,a service program that delivers streaming video to a user can usedifferent video encoding rates based on real-time knowledge of theability of the air interface to deliver a particular data rate to the UE104. Also, the placement of the Optimization Server 202, 204 in thewireless network may reduce the packet transit delay that the userexperiences. As will be shown below, the interface of the OptimizationServer 202, 204 to the wireless network elements may be used to minimizethe delay in exchanging packets between a server program and a UE 104.

An embodiment of the deployment points for the Optimization Server inthe LTE wireless network is shown in FIG. 2. One deployment point isshown to associate the Optimization Server 202 together with the PGW 114element, such as through providing the Optimization Server with highspeed connections to the PGW, locating the Optimization Server inproximity to the PGW, co-locating the Optimization Server with the PGW,and the like. Doing so places the Optimization Server 202 at the edge ofthe LTE wireless network, and therefore avoids the packet transit delaythat would otherwise be incurred in transiting a packet data networklike the Internet. Services such as streaming video, or real-time video,can be better provided to many concurrent users in the region of the LTEwireless network with this approach. Furthermore, if the PGW 114 (andOptimization Server 202) is deployed regionally, as opposed to centrallywithin the country, packet delays may be further reduced. Thisdeployment configuration is shown in FIG. 2. Note, too, that providingservices via the Optimization Server 202 associated with the PGW 114 maystill require packets to traverse the LTE back haul network 112 to reachthe wireless UE 104. Second in importance to the air interface, the backhaul network 112 is a critical resource whose utilization has to beconserved. This point is illustrated by having a large number of userswho are accessed through the same eNB 102 element, and are all viewing areal-time video event. If all the streaming video packets transit theback haul network, enough bandwidth may not be available for use byother users who are accessed via that eNB 102.

The need to conserve the back haul 112 utilization may lead to theassociation of Optimization Servers 204 together with the eNB elements,such as through providing the Optimization Server with high speedconnections to the eNB, locating the Optimization Server in proximity tothe eNB, co-locating the Optimization Server with the eNB, and the like.If the service to the UE 104 (e.g., streaming a real-time video event)can be provided via the Optimization Server 204 that is associated withthe eNB 102 that serves the UE 104, then the back haul network 112 usagemay be minimized in delivering that service to the UE 104. Also, thedelay experienced by packets exchanged between the Service Access Point(i.e., the Optimization Server 204) and the UE 104 may be minimized,because those packets only transit the eNB 102 and the LTE airinterface.

As an example, consider the task of providing a video for a real-timeevent to 200 hundred users connected through the same eNB 102. Withoutthe Optimization Server 204 associated with the eNB 102, the ServiceAccess Point lies beyond the wireless network, and a single video packetstream for each UE 104 traverses the PGW 114, SGW 110, back haul network112, eNB 102, and the LTE air interface. For 200 hundred UEs 104concurrently viewing this service through the same eNB 102, it meansthat 200 times the basic video rate may be consumed on the back haulnetwork 112. Now consider the situation when an Optimization Server 204is associated with the serving eNB 102. Suppose further that theOptimization Server 204 and the UEs 104 implement the Publish/Subscribecommunications paradigm described herein, so all 200 UEs subscribe toreceive the same real-time video transmission. The video data stream issent once from its generation point in the Internet through the LTEnetwork, over the back haul 112 to the Optimization Server 204associated with the serving eNB 102. The Publish/Subscribe software onthe Optimization Server 204 then distributes the video packet stream toeach of the 200 UEs 104 that have subscribed to the service via theOptimization Server 204.

Because of the way bearers 302 (i.e., GTP tunnels) are set up in the LTEnetwork to carry packets to and from UEs, there may be no clear way toconnect a UE to an Optimization Server that is associated with the eNB.Part of the present disclosure shows how this connectivity may beestablished. Furthermore, when services are provided by a server 124attached to the Internet, or by an Optimization Server 202 associatedwith the PGW, the service may continue to be provided un-disrupted fromthe same service access point, even though the UE moves through the LTEwireless network, and is in Handover among the eNB 102 elements in theLTE network. However, when the Service Access Point is an OptimizationServer 204 associated with an eNB 102, that access point may need to bechanged when the UE 104 goes into Handover to another eNB 102. Part ofthe present disclosure shows how the Service Access Point may beswitched rapidly between Optimization Servers 204 associated with theeNB 102 elements. If the Service Access Point switching is performedfast enough, the user experiences no disruption in the service beingprovided. Before switching the Service Access Point, it may be requiredthat the UE 104 be connected to an Optimization Server 204 that isassociated with an eNB 102 element.

FIG. 3 shows that in the LTE network, different bearers 302 may beestablished for each UE 104 to connect the UE 104 with a PGW 114element. The PGW 114 element may provide the interface with the packetdata network (e.g., the Internet 122) where the user service computersare typically located. In embodiments, each bearer 302 is a tunnel,using a simple GTP (Generic Tunneling Protocol) header to encapsulatethe packets that are routed through the tunnel. Packet routing into atunnel may be accomplished at the UE 104 and at the PGW 114 byassociating the IP addresses and port numbers in the packet with theInternet Protocol (IP) addresses and port numbers in a “Traffic FlowTemplate” associated with a bearer 302. Each bearer 302 established fora UE 104 has a different Quality of Service (QoS) associated with it. Upto 15 bearers 302 can be established for a single UE 104. The firstbearer 302 that is established to a given PGW 114 is called the DefaultBearer 302. Any additional bearers 302 established to that PGW 114 arecalled Dedicated Bearers 302.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment where one Dedicated Bearer 302 is“redirected” to point to an Optimization Server 204 that is associatedwith the eNB 102 that serves the UE 104. In this instance, theOptimization Server 204 associated with the eNB 102 is labeledOptServereNB 308, while the Optimization Server 202 associated with thePGW 114 is labeled OptServerPGW 304. An application 310 on the UE 104may communicate with the OptServerPGW 304 by sending packets through aDefault Bearer 302 that carries the packet to the PGW 114 associatedwith the OptServerPGW 304. Packets may be sent from the OptServerPGW 304to the UE 104 by traversing the same Default Bearer 302. After theredirection of the Dedicated Bearer 312 is accomplished, an application310 on the UE 104 may communicate with the OptServereNB 308 by sendingpackets through the redirected Dedicated Bearer 312. Packets may be sentfrom the OptServereNB 308 to the UE by traversing the same redirectedDedicated Bearer 312; no back haul may need to be utilized in the packetexchanges over the redirected bearer 312.

Redirecting a bearer 302 may not be a standard operation, so it may needto be accomplished via an OAM-style interface (Operations,Administration, and Maintenance interfaces) to the eNB 102. Also, notein FIG. 3 that after the Dedicated Bearer 312 is redirected at the eNB102, the tunnel information that previously linked the bearer to the SGW110 is still maintained in the eNB 102. This may be necessary to enableHandover to occur without change to the existing Handover procedure, andto enable the fast re-direction of the same Dedicated Bearer 312 at thetarget eNB during a Handover. The Dedicated Bearer 302 may not have tobe re-established after a Handover, because it is may not be removedfrom the eNB 102 list of established bearers 302 when the bearer isredirected to an OptServereNB 308.

In the architecture shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the OptServerPGW 304 maybe used as a control point for redirecting bearers 312 at the eNB 102elements for any UE 104. FIG. 4 shows a set of message interactions thatmay be used to accomplish the redirection. When the UE 104 accesses theLTE network, a Default Bearer 302 may be established to the PGW 114associated with the OptServerPGW 304. The UE 104 may perform a DomainName System (DNS) query to retrieve the IP address of the OptServerPGW304. The UE 104 may use the Default Bearer 302 to connect to a WirelessControl Process 3902 on the OptServerPGW 304, and Registers itself withthat program. The Registration information may contain the Cell_ID ofthe LTE Cell through which the UE is currently accessing the network,the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), which is theparameter used in the eNB 102 to identify the UE 104, the IMSI(International Mobile Subscriber Identity) used to identify the UE 104in all LTE network elements except for the eNB 102, and the GUTI(Globally Unique Temporary Identifier) used to identify the MME 108element currently serving the UE 102. Other parameters may be conveyedby the UE 104 to the Wireless Control Process 3902 via the Registermessage (e.g., the UE IP address) to facilitate the implementation ofother services, as discussed herein.

When the UE 104 Registers with the program on the OptServerPGW 304, itmay receive an acknowledgement response, which may contain a command toestablish a Dedicated Bearer linked to the currently used DefaultBearer. Alternatively, the LTE network provisioning at the PCRF (PolicyCharging and Rules Function) may start the establishment of such aDedicated Bearer for the UE 104. The UE 104 may use the standard LTEprocedure to establish the Dedicated Bearer 302, and when this iscompleted, the UE 104 sends a response to the OptServerPGW 304 thatcontains the IMSI (to identify the UE 104 to the Wireless Controlprogram 3902) and the BearerID of the just-established bearer 302.Because the Wireless Control Process 3902 may have the Cell_ID for theUE 104, it may determine the ID of the eNB 102 currently serving the UE104. Using, for example, provisioned OAM IP addresses for the eNB 102elements, the Wireless Control Process 3902 may send a message to theserving eNB 102 to command it to redirect the bearer 302. The C-RNTI mayidentify the UE 104 context to the eNB 104, and the BearerID mayidentify the UE bearer 302 that should be redirected. The server IPaddress tells the eNB 104 which OptServereNB 308 is the target of theredirection (so more than one Optimization Server 308 may be associatedwith the eNB 102). When the eNB 102 completes the redirection operation,it may reply to the Wireless Control Process 3902. The Wireless ControlProcess 3902 next may send a packet via the Default Bearer 302 to the UE104 to inform it that it can start using the redirected Dedicated Bearer312 to start services using the OptServereNB 308 as the Service AccessPoint. By directing packets through the redirected Dedicated Bearer 312,the UE 104 may start any of a plurality of services. Back Haul 112utilization may be minimized for all of these services, and packetdelays may likewise be minimized.

Transfer of Service Delivery Between eNB-Based Optimization ServersDuring Handover

In FIG. 2, in an example suppose that a UE 104 is receiving service froman OptServereNB 308 associated with its serving eNB 102. If the UE 104moves, so it is in Handover to another eNB 102, the Service Access Pointhas to be changed to the OptServereNB 308 that is associated with thenew, target eNB 102 element. A service interruption is inevitable inthis case, so it should be made as short as possible. To minimize theservice interruption, the additional message interactions to effect thechange in the Service Access Point needs to be embedded with thestandard Handover processing used in the LTE network. Hence, a briefdiscussion of the standard Handover processing is provided here.

Standard Handover processing may be divided into three phases, such asHandover Preparation, Handover Execution, and Handover Completion. SeeFIG. 5. The current serving eNB 102 is referred to as the source eNB.The new eNB 102 is referred to as the target eNB. In the HandoverPreparation phase, the source eNB 102 receives signal measurements fromthe UE 104, and determines that an antenna at another eNB 102 provides astronger signal to the UE 104, and that a Handover should occur. Thesource eNB 102 transfers to the target eNB 102 its context informationfor the UE, including the ID and tunnel parameters for each bearer ineffect for the UE. The tunnel information for the redirected bearer 312may be included in the set of bearer information, but that informationis for the tunnel endpoint at the SGW 110, not at the OptServereNB 308associated with the source eNB 102. In this way, standard Handoverprocessing may not be impacted by the inclusion of the OptServereNB 102and the redirected bearers 312. Parameters involved in redirecting abearer 312 are not transferred in the Handover processing. Meanwhile,the target eNB 102 may send to the source eNB 102 a C-RNTI value for theUE 104 to use at the target eNB 102. When the Handover Preparation phaseis completed, the source eNB 102 sends a Handover Command message to theUE 104, and includes the new C-RNTI value. Any downlink data received bythe source eNB 102 for the UE 104 may not be sent over the air to the UE104, but is forwarded to the target eNB 102, where it is queued untilthe UE 104 connects at the target eNB 104. The SGW 110 may not yet beaware of the Handover, so it may continue to forward downlink data tothe source eNB 102.

When the UE 104 receives the Handover Command, the Handover Executionphase may begin. The UE 104 synchronizes to the signals transmitted bythe target eNB 102, and when this is done, the UE 104 accesses thetarget eNB 102 Cell using the new C-RNTI value, and sends the HandoverConfirm message to the target eNB 102. The target eNB 102 starts totransmit the queued forwarded data to the UE 104 via the air interface.Because the tunnel information for the UE bearers 302 is available atthe target eNB 102 from the Handover Preparation phase, the UE 102 maybegin to send uplink packets through the target eNB 102. Uplink packetsfor the bearer 302 that needs to be redirected are not sent at thistime, because the redirection has not yet occurred at the target eNB102.

In the Handover Completion phase, the SGW 110 may be provided with thebearer 302 tunnel parameters being used at the target eNB 102, and itmay now forward downlink data to the target eNB 102. The UE 104 contextinformation may be deleted at the source eNB 102, and the Handoverprocessing is done. See FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 shows the interactions between the UE 104 and the OptimizationServers 202, 204 that integrates these servers into the LTE Handoverprocedure, and effectively transfers the point of service delivery fromthe Optimization Server 308 located at the source eNB 102 to theOptimization Server 308 located at the target eNB 102. The UE 104 clientmay play a role in ensuring that no data is lost in the transition ofOptimization Server 308 elements, per FIG. 6. The OptServerPGW 304 playsa role in sending a command to the target eNB 102 to cause the bearer312 that was previously redirected at the source eNB 102 to now beredirected at the target eNB 102. The use of a small plurality ofmessages (e.g., five) to effect the change in the Service Access Pointmeans that the change may be accomplished quickly. In this instance,messages may include disconnect from the OptServereNB 308 at the sourceeNB 102, Handover( ), RedirectBearer( ), RedirectBearerDone( ),ResumeSession( ), and the like. See FIG. 6.

In FIG. 6, the UE 104 client may be informed by the LTE softwareexecuting on the UE 104 that the Handover Command message has beenreceived. Before allowing the UE LTE software to proceed insynchronizing with the target Cell, the UE 104 client may send a packetover the redirected Dedicated Bearer 312 to disconnect from theOptServereNB 308 associated with the source eNB 102. When this isaccomplished, the UE 104 client may allow the UE LTE software toproceed. Another notification may be provided to the UE 104 client whenthe UE 104 sends the Handover Confirm message to the target eNB 102. Theclient may then send a Handover( ) message to the Wireless ControlProcess 3902 executing on the OptServerPGW 304 to inform it of the newCell_ID, the new C-RNTI, the IMSI, and the GUTI (which may havechanged), and the bearer ID of the Dedicated Bearer 312 that needs to beredirected, plus other parameters (e.g., the UE 104 IP address) that maybe required to provide additional services. The Wireless Control Process3902 may derive the new eNB ID from the new Cell_ID, and obtain the eNBOAM IP address from provisioned, or other data. The target eNB 102 maybe commanded to redirect the bearer 312 for the UE 104, and replies whenthis is done. At this point, the Wireless Control Process 3902 may senda ResumeSession( ) message to the UE 104 via the Default Bearer 302, andthe UE 104 client is able to send a packet via the redirected DedicatedBearer 312 to the OptServereNB 308 at the target eNB 102 to continue thesession that was interrupted at the source eNB 102 location.

Replacing an Airborne eNB Using the LTE Handover Mechanism

Referring again to FIG. 1, during emergencies, the wirelessinfrastructure may be destroyed, or not operating, and it becomesnecessary to deploy a temporary network in an ad-hoc manner. One way toimplement the deployment is to place the eNB 102 network element in anairborne vehicle, and have it hover over the area in which LTE wirelessservice is desired, as indicated by the Cell Coverage Area 712. Theairborne vehicle may either be manned, or unmanned. In the latter case,the aircraft may be referred to as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV 708).The Enhanced Packet Core (EPC) 710 network elements may include the MME108, SGW 110, PGW 114, HSS 120, PCRF 118, and the like, plus a Router702 to provide communications interconnectivity among the networkelements. The MME 108, SGW 110, and PGW 114 network elements may bedeployed in a second airborne vehicle 710 that can be situated remotefrom the area of operation of the eNB 102 elements. The MME 108 and thePGW 114 network elements may communicate over the Long Haul Networkconnection 704 and the Long Haul Network 804 with the HSS 120 and thePCRF 118 network elements. The eNB-based vehicle 708 and the EPC-basedvehicle 710 may communicate over a wireless back haul interface 112. AllLTE network elements may communicate with the Element Management System(EMS) 802 using the Long Haul Network 804. This configuration is shownin FIG. 7. An alternative deployment of the EPC 710 elements is inground-based nodes. In this case, the airborne eNB 102 vehicles 708communicate via a wireless radio link 112 to a ground station thatprovides connectivity to the EPC 710 elements and to the EMS 802.

While other deployment configurations are possible, it may be best todeploy the eNB 102 elements by themselves, without adding other LTEnetwork elements to the aerial vehicles 708 carrying the eNB 102. Thisdeployment may be especially useful to be followed when Unmanned AerialVehicles (UAVs) are used. Weight and power limitations may be importantin these deployments, and carrying only the eNB 102, and not any of theother LTE network elements, may ensure that the UAV 708 carrying the eNB102 does so with a minimal payload weight and power dissipation.

Replacing the eNB UAV in the Area of Operation

In any remote field deployment situation, but especially when theplatforms that contain the LTE network elements are UAVs, there willcome a time when a UAV needs to be replaced. The reason might be thatthe battery that powers the LTE equipment is running low, or that theUAV is running low on fuel, or it may be that the UAV that carries theLTE equipment needs to be removed from the scene and be serviced. In anycase, it may be possible to replace the UAV platform while it is inoperation in the field. The following algorithm shows how the eNB UAV708 may be replaced while in service over an area of operation. Thealgorithm for accomplishing this replacement results in continuousservice being provided to the UEs 104 in the area of operation of theeNB 102.

FIG. 8 depicts the situation when the eNB 1 UAV 708 is being replaced byanother eNB2 UAV 708 that has arrived in the area of operation. Anembodiment of a replacement procedure is as follows.

-   -   1. The replacement UAV 708 hosting eNB2 102 arrives at the site        of the UAV 708 hosting eNB1 102. eNB2 102 establishes radio        communications with the backhaul antenna/radio of the UAV 710        that hosts the EPC 710 elements.    -   2. eNB2 102 establishes communications with the remote Element        Management System (EMS 802) via a router 702 contained in the        EPC UAV 710 equipment.    -   3. The EMS 802 provisions eNB2 102 with the same parameters that        eNB1 102 has, except that its Cell ID is different.    -   4. The EMS 802 starts the replacement procedure at eNB1 102, and        commands eNB1 102 to reduce its transmit power at a rate, Pr,        and concurrently commands eNB2 102 to turn ON its transmitter,        and increase its transmit power output at a rate Pr. The rate Pr        should be chosen to emulate the power received at a UE 104 from        two fixed antennas separated by the usual 2-Cell radii in        deployed commercial LTE systems, when the motion of the UE 104        is away from eNB1 102 and towards eNB2 102, and the rate of        emulated UE 104 motion is 3-30    -   5. At some point determined by the rate Pr and the RF        propagation characteristics over the area of operation, all the        user equipment (cell phones, digital elements, sensors, etc.) in        the RF area 712 covered by eNB1 102 (and now also covered by        eNB2 102) determine that the Cell at eNB2 102 has a strong        enough signal compared with the Cell at eNB 1 102 that a        handover should be performed to the Cell at eNB2 102. All the        UEs 104 in the RF coverage area 712 now perform a handover from        eNB1 102 to eNB2 102.    -   6. When all the UEs 104 have migrated away from eNB1 102, eNB1        102 sends a “replacement completed” indication to the EMS 802,        and eNB1 102 is now commanded to reduce its transmit power to 0.        eNB1 102 is able to leave the area of operation. The eNB        replacement has been completed without loss of service to the        UEs in the area of operation.        Beam Periodicity Allowed in a Beam Forming LTE Wireless System        Using Periodically Scanning Agile Beam Patterns

In embodiments, the present disclosure may provide for an RF beamforming technique in an LTE wireless system. The particular beam formingtechnique may generate a number “N” of RF beams concurrently, such as ineach one msec interval of an LTE frame 1002, where an LTE frame 1002 maybe ten msec in duration. The N RF beams 902 may cover N sub-areas 902 ofthe total coverage area 712 of an LTE Cell, the coverage area 712 beingdetermined by an LTE Cell using the same total transmit power used inthe beam forming solution, but which may not use the beam formingtechnique. In the next interval, another N RF beams 902 may be generatedto cover a different set of N sub-areas 902. This process may berepeated until the entire Cell coverage area has been scanned by the RFbeam patterns 902. The RF beam patterns 902 repeat periodically in thisscanning fashion.

The present disclosure may provide information related to theconstraints on the scanning periodicity that may need to be obeyed bythe RF beam patterns 902. For example, without limitation, for aFrequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, the periodicity of the RF beampatterns 902 may be required to be four msec. For a Time Division Duplex(TDD) system, the periodicity may generally be 10 msec (i.e., one LTEFrame 1002), but may be a shorter interval, depending on the TDDUplink/Downlink (U/D) configuration 1002 being used in the LTE system.The data presented herein is the result of analysis through the methodsand systems of the present disclosure. Certain specific constraints aregiven below.

The techniques of beam forming have been used for many years in theareas of audio signal processing, sonar signal processing, and radiosignal processing. In many implementations, a technique is used wherebythe signal source (for reception at the antenna array) location isdetermined, and then the antenna array is focused on that point. Withthe beam forming technology pertinent to this disclosure for LTEwireless systems, the beam forming operates in a different manner, andtakes advantage of the fact that in LTE, the transmission of data to theUEs 104, and the reception of data from the UEs 104, is scheduled by thesoftware in the LTE base station 102. This beam forming technologyfocuses a set of RF beams on specific, non-overlapping sub-areas of theCell coverage area 712 for a fixed, short time interval, and then ismoved to another set of non-overlapping sub-areas of the Cell coveragearea 712 for the same fixed, short time interval. The beam pattern maybe moved in this way until the entire Cell coverage area 712 has beenscanned for a transmission from the antenna array, and for reception bythe antenna array. Then, the beam pattern of coverage repeats inperiodic fashion. See FIG. 9 for an example of a beam-scanning patternconsisting of four RF beams 902 generated in each of four consecutiveone msec sub-frames of an LTE Frame, with the pattern repeating everyfour msec. In the first one msec interval, RF beams 902 numbered 1, 11,9, and 14 may be generated, where these constitute a non-adjacent set ofRF beams 902. In the second one msec interval, RF beams 902 numbered 3,6, 7, and 13 may be generated. In the third one msec interval, RF beams902 numbered 4, 8, 10, and 16 may be generated. In the fourth one msecinterval, RF beams 902 numbered 2, 5, 12, and 15 may be generated. Inthe fifth one msec interval, the pattern repeats. Alternative sets of RFbeam patterns 902 may be used, with the proviso that they benon-adjacent to ensure the best operation of the agile beam formingsystem.

The present disclosure may cover the constraints on the repetition rateof the beam patterns 902, and for TDD systems, also on the sets ofsub-frames of frame 1002 in which the RF beam patterns 902 may need tobe identical.

LTE is an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) system. Thetransmission intervals are organized into a set of sub-frames, and a setof 10 sub-frames comprises an LTE Frame 1002. Each sub-frame is one msecin duration, and each of these is further broken down into two slots,each of 0.5 msec duration. In an LTE FDD system, different frequencybands are used for uplink and downlink transmissions. Hence, UEs 104 canbe scheduled to receive a downlink transmission, and/or can be scheduledfor an uplink transmission, in any sub-frame. In an LTE TDD system, thesame frequency band is used to carry uplink and downlink transmissions.To organize these transmissions, each sub-frame in the set of 10sub-frames in each LTE Frame 1002 may be configured for either Uplinktransmissions, or for Downlink transmissions. As shown in FIG. 10, thereare 7 different TDD U/D Configurations 1002 specified for LTE operation.A particular LTE eNB 102 may be configured to use one of theseConfigurations 1002. The sub-frame labeled “S” in FIG. 10 is used totransmit an Uplink Pilot signal and a Downlink Pilot signal. TheS-sub-frame is not used in determining the constraints imposed on the RFbeam forming technique.

Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (H-ARQ) Processing

Transmissions over the air interface are prone to errors due tointerference and fading. Each transmission in the uplink direction andin the downlink direction has to be acknowledged by the other end. Thisis done by sending Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (H-ARQ)acknowledgments or negative-acknowledgments on control channels. H-ARQis a powerful technique for improving the performance of LTE systemsover that of other wireless systems, and may need to be maintained whenusing the beam forming technology.

In the downlink direction, H-ARQ ACKs/NAKs are for uplink transmissions,and are sent on the Physical H-ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH), which ispart of the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), i.e. the PHICH istransmitted in the first 1-3 symbols of each sub-frame. In the uplinkdirection, H-ARQ ACKs/NACKs (acknowledgement characters or negativeacknowledgement characters) are sent on the Physical Uplink ControlChannel (PUCCH), which is implicitly scheduled shortly after a downlinktransmission.

When a downlink transmission is “NAKed,” (i.e., receives anegative-acknowledge character) and needs to be retransmitted, the MediaAccess Control (MAC) layer in the eNB 102 element may need to schedulethat retransmission. When the beam forming technique is employed, theMAC may be required to schedule the retransmission to occur in thesub-frame in which the RF beam 902 is formed that covers the current UE104 location, and the data may be transmitted to the UE 104 via thecovering RF beam 902. Because all user plane data may need to be sent tothe UE 104 in the sub-frame in which is formed the RF beam 902 thatcovers the UE 104 location, the statement for the downlink transmissionsmay need to treat re-transmitted data in the same way that initialtransmissions of user plane data are treated with the beam formingtechnology. These statements apply equally to the FDD system and to theTDD system. Maintaining the efficiency of retransmissions in thedownlink direction is not an issue when using the beam formingtechnique.

Uplink retransmissions may not be explicitly scheduled, but may beimplicitly scheduled. For instance, assume that the UE 104 makes anuplink transmission in a sub-frame in which the eNB 102 beam-formingreceiver focuses on the UE 104 location. In an FDD system, if the UE 104receives a NAK of any transmission via the downlink PHICH, the NAK mayneed to be sent four sub-frames after the sub-frame that contained themaligned UE 104 transmission. The UE 104 uses implicit scheduling tore-transmit the information four sub-frames after receiving the NAK.Hence, in an FDD system, if the period of the RF beam 902 coverage ofthe Cell sub-area 902 is different from four msec, it means that the UE104 re-transmission may occur in a sub-frame in which the UE 902location is not illuminated by an RF beam 902. As mentioned, the UE 104interprets an ACK or NAK received on the PHICH in sub-frame n asapplying to the UE 104 transmission in sub-frame (n−4); See Section 8.3of TS 36.213 va40. Meanwhile, the UE 104 implicitly reschedules itsretransmission in sub-frame (n+4). See Section 8.0 of TS 36.213 va40.Hence, unless the RF beam 902 rotation through the Cell coverage area712 is four msec (4 sub-frames) in an FDD system, uplink retransmissionsfail (the eNB 102 is searching the receive beams for UE 104 user planetransmissions, and with a rotation different from four msec, the beamlocation 902 in the sub-frame where the retransmission takes place doesnot cover the UE 104 location). See FIG. 11 for an example using a beam902 rotation period of five msec versus using a beam 902 rotation periodof four msec in an LTE FDD system.

H-ARQ Processing for Uplink Retransmission in TDD Systems

The situation for a TDD system may be more complicated, because therelationship of the sub-frame in which the NAK is received to thereferenced sub-frame of the original transmission is different for thedifferent TDD U/D configurations 1002. So, too, is the relationship ofthe received NAK sub-frame to the sub-frame in which the UE 104implicitly schedules the re-transmission. Table 8.3-1 of TS 36.213 a40is reproduced below, and gives the relationships. If a NAK is receivedin sub-frame n, it implicitly refers to the transmission sent by the UE104 in sub-frame (n−k), where the value k is shown below for thedifferent TDD U/D configurations 1002.

TABLE 1 Sub-frame Relationship of NAK Received to Original Transmissionin TDD Systems TDD Sub-Frame Number (n) in Which UL/DL PHICH NAK isReceived by the UE Config 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 7 4 7 4 1 4 6 4 6 2 6 63 6 6 6 4 6 6 5 6 6 6 4 7 4 6

The NAK transmissions from the eNB 102 may only come in specificdownlink sub-frames, and not always four sub-frames removed, as in theFDD system.

Another way to view the information is to view the sub-frames in whichthe original UE 104 transmission is made, and then use the values toshow when the NAK for that transmission may be sent by the eNB 102. Thisview is presented in the following Table 2, where the notation h} meansthat the NAK is received in sub-frame h of the following LTE frame. TheTDD configurations show the Uplink/Downlink (or S) behavior of thesystem in each sub-frame, per FIG. 7 and Table 4.2-1 of TS 36.213 a40.

TABLE 2 Original UE Transmission Sub-frame and Sub-frame in Which NAK isReceived in TDD Systems Down link to Uplink Switch TDD Point U/D Perio-Sub-Frame Number Config dicity 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0  5 ms D S U/6 U/0}U D S U/1} U/5} U 1  5 ms D S U/6 U/9 D D S U/1} U/4} D 2  5 ms D S U/8D D D S U/3} D D 3 10 ms D S U/8 U/9 U/0} D D D D D 4 10 ms D S U/8 U/9D D D D D D 5 10 ms D S U/8 D D D D D D D 6  5 ms D S U/6 U/9 U/0} D SU/1} U/5} D Notation: U/n} means that the PHICH NAK for the transmissionin the indicated sub-frame comes in sub-frame n of the next frame.

Now that it is clear in which sub-frame a NAK may be sent for a UE 104transmission, the next point to understand is the sub-frame in which theUE 104 may re-transmit its information. The offset from the sub-frame inwhich NAK is received may also depend on the TDD configuration 1002, andon the sub-frame in which the NAK is received. If the NAK is received insub-frame n, the UE 104 schedules its retransmission in sub-frame (n+k),where k is given in the following table (from Table 8-2 of TS 36.213 a40for normal HARQ operation).

TABLE 3 The Value k for UE Retransmission in Sub-frame (n + k) When NAKis Received in Sub-frame n TDD UL/DL Sub-frame n Config 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 0 4 6 4 6 1 6 4 6 4 2 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 6 7 7 7 7 5

Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 provide a set of constraints on the wherethe RF beams 902 have to be in order to preserve the HARQ capability inTDD systems that use the beam forming technique. For example, if the RFbeam 902 is focused on a location in sub-frame n when a UE 104 transmitsinformation, then the same RF beam 902 pattern may need to be in effectin the sub-frame when the UE re-transmits its data. For example, Table 2shows that for TDD configuration 0, if a UE 104 transmits information insub-frame 3, a NAK for that transmission comes in sub-frame 0 of thefollowing LTE frame. Table 3 specifies that a NAK received in sub-frame0 causes the UE to reschedule its retransmission in sub-frame 4 (4sub-frames after the NAK is received). This relationship means that theRF beam pattern 902 in sub-frame 3 (where the original transmission tookplace) and in sub-frame 4 (the sub-frame in which the retransmissionoccurs) may need to be the same. All of the constraints implied by theseH-ARQ tables determine how many separate sets of RF beam patterns 902can be had for a TDD system with a particular U/D configuration, andtherefore, what the rate of repetition may need to be for the RF beampatterns 902. The result is not as straightforward as it is for the FDDsystem, in which there are 4 RF beam patterns that repeat every 4sub-frames.

Before analyzing Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 for all the HARQconstraints on the beam patterns, another aspect of the system may needto be analyzed for additional constraints imposed on the number of setsof beam patterns 902, and the sub-frames in which the RF beam patternsmay need to be the same. Additional constraints may be imposed by theChannel Quality Indicator (CQI) measurements, because these measurementsmay be used to locate the UE 104 in the different RF beam locations 902.A description for Locating and Tracking UEs 104 in an RF Beam 902 of aPeriodically Scanning RF Beam System, as described herein, explains theCQI measurements and how they are used in an LTE system employing thisbeam forming technology.

Channel Quality Indication (CQI)

To be able to optimize downlink transmissions by adapting the modulationand coding scheme (MCS), the mobile device 104 may have to send channelquality indications (CQI) on the PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel)or the PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel). The CQI is a 4-bit resultthat indicates the measurement value. The measurement may be over theentire frequency range of the Cell bandwidth, or it can be over somesubset of that frequency range. The entire frequency range may bedivided into a set of Physical Resource Blocks, and collections of theseare defined as a “sub-band” for the purpose of making CQI measurementsover a frequency range that is less than the total RF bandwidth assignedto the Cell. In an LTE system, sub-band CQI measurements can be made onan aperiodic basis, where the report is sent via the PUSCH. Periodicwideband CQI measurements may be made using the PUCCH to send the reportto the eNB 102.

When the eNB 102 desires that the UE 104 make a measurement of theChannel Quality and return a CQI measurement value, it may send commandinformation, called Downlink Command Information (DCI), to the UE 104.In an FDD system, if DCI is sent in sub-frame n, the CQI measurement isreported by the UE in sub-frame (n+4). That, plus the HARQ constraint of(n+8) for uplink retransmissions, may dictate that the FDD systemcontain four sets of RF beam patterns 902 that repeat every 4sub-frames. In a TDD system, the DCI commands may be constrained to besent by the eNB 102 in the sub-frames shown in Table 2, i.e., the samesub-frames in which ACK/NAK are allowed to be sent. The UE 104 CQImeasurement report is returned to the eNB 102 k sub-frames later, wherek is shown in Table 3. Because the UE 104 location determinationalgorithm uses so-called aperiodic CQI reporting, where the report isreturned via the PUSCH channel (i.e., within an RF beam 902), it meansthat the sub-frame in which the DCI command is sent and thecorresponding sub-frame that contains the CQI measurement report mayneed to generate the same RF beam patterns 902.

Determining the Number of RF Beam Patterns in a TDD System

The information in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 may now be used todetermine the number of RF beam patterns 902 that can be maintained in aTDD system with a particular U/D Configuration 1002, and the sub-framesthat may need to use the same RF beam pattern 902. The constraints arebased in the fact that HARQ may need to be preserved for UE 104retransmissions; the sub-frame of an original transmission and thesub-frame of a retransmission may need to have the same RF beam coverage902. Also, a DCI for a Channel Quality Information measurement in agiven sub-frame and the CQI report in another sub-frame may need to havethe same RF beam 902 coverage in those two sub-frames. The rationale forthis statement is apparent from the algorithms presented herein forlocating a UE 104 in an RF beam 902 when the UE 104 first accesses theCell, and for tracking a UE 104 as it moves across the set of RF beam902 locations that cover the Cell area 712. The information in Table 1,Table 2, and Table 3 is incorporated into the following table to makethe analysis easier to visualize for each TDD U/D configuration 1002.

The notation used in Table 4 is described here. For each TDD U/Dconfiguration 1002, the configuration is repeated from FIG. 10 for theconvenience of the reader. The row above the configuration is used toindicate the sub-frame in which the UE 104 can send an Uplinktransmission, X (i.e., in any U sub-frame), the sub-frame in which acorresponding NAK is received (N), and the sub-frame in which thecorresponding retransmission occurs (R). If the relevant sub-frameoccurs in the preceding LTE frame (2+ LTE frames are shown in Table 4),it is indicated by N{j (for a NAK; the referenced transmission issub-frame j in the previous LTE frame), or by R{j (for a retransmission;the original transmission occurred in sub-frame j of the previous LTEframe). In one case (TDD configuration 6), the retransmission is for anoriginal transmission two LTE frames previous, so the notation R{{j isused.

The row beneath the configuration row is used to indicate when a DCIcommand can be sent by the eNB 102 to cause a CQI measurement. Thenotation dci-j is used to indicate that the DCI command is sent insub-frame j (it is already indicated in sub-frame j, so this part is forconvenience of viewing). The corresponding CQI measurement result isreturned to the eNB 102 is the sub-frame marked by CQI-j, where, again,if the corresponding DCI command occurs in the previous LTE frame, thenotation CQI-{j is used.

TABLE 4 HARQ and DCI/CQI Data for Determining the Number of RF Beam Setsin a TDD System TDD U/D Config 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 X, N, R X2 X3X4 N2 X7 X8 X9 N{3 N{7 R{2 Con D S U U U D S U U U D S U f0 dci/cqi dci0dci1 cqi0 dci5 dci6 cqi1 cqi5 dci0 dci1 cqi{6 X, N, R X2 X3 X4 N2 X7 X8N3 N{7 R{2 Con D S U U D D S U U D D S U f1 dci/cqi dci1 dci4 dci6 cqi1cqi4 dci9 dci1 cqi{6 X, N, R X2 X7 N2 R{2 Con D S U D D D S U D D D S Uf2 dci/cqi dci3 cqi3 dci8 cqi{8 X, N, X2 X3 X4 N2 N3 N{4 R{2 R Con D S UU U D D D D D D S U f3 dci/cqi dci0 cqi0 dci8 dci9 dci0 cqi{8 X, N, X2X3 N2 N3 R{2 R Con D S U U D D D D D D D S U f4 dci/cqi dci8 dci9 cqi{8X, N, X2 N2 R{2 R Con D S U D D D D D D D D S U f5 dci/cqi dci8 cqi{8 X,N, X2 X3 X4 N2 X7 X8 N3 N{4 N{7 R Con D S U U U D S U U D D S U f6dci/cqi dci0 dci1 dci5 dci6 cqi0 cqi1 dci9 dci0 dci1 cqi{5 TDD U/DConfig 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 X, N, R R{3 N{8 R{7 R{8 Con U U D S U U U DS U U f0 dci/cqi cqi0 dci5 dci6 cqi1 cqi5 dci0 dci1 cqi{6 X, N, R R{3N{8 R{7 R{8 Con U D D S U U D D S U U f1 dci/cqi cqi{9 dci4 cqi1 cqi4 X,N, R N{7 R{7 Con D D D S U D D D S U D f2 dci/cqi dci3 cqi3 X, N, R{3R{4 R Con U U D D D D D D S U U f3 dci/cqi cqi{9 cqi0 X, N, R{3 R Con UD D D D D D D S U U f4 dci/cqi cqi{9 X, N, R Con D D D D D D D D S U Df5 dci/cqi X, N, R{2 R{3 N{8 R{4 R{7 R{{8 R Con U U D S U U D D S U U f6dci/cqi cqi{6 cqi{9 dci5 dci6 cqi0 cqi1 dci9 dci0 dci1 cqi{5 cqi{6

The data in Table 4 is analyzed as follows to determine the number of RFbeam 902 sets that can be supported in a specific TDD U/D configuration1002, and the sub-frames in which the same RF beam pattern 902 may needto be used. The results in Table 5 constitute the main constraints inthis disclosure for LTE TDD systems that employ an RF Beam Scanningantenna system. The constraints for a corresponding LTE FDD system arethat the RF Beam pattern 902 repeat every 4 msec.

TABLE 5 The Number of RF Beam Sets, and the Sub-Frames Requiring theSame RF Beam Coverage in LTE TDD Systems TDD Config- RF Beams may needto be identical uration Analysis in the listed sub-frame sets 0 The HARQconstraint shows that sub-frames 3, 4 may (0, 3, 4, 7)(5, 9, 8, 2); needto have the same RF beam 902 coverage, and hence, two sets of RF beams902 that sub-frames 8, 9 may need to have the same RF can be used inConfiguration 0. beam 902 coverage. The DCI constraint shows that Oneset of RF beams 902 is sub-frames 0, 4 may need to have the same RF beamgenerated in sub-frames 0, 3, 4, 902 coverage, and that sub-frames 5, 9may need to and 7; a second set of RF beams have the same RF beam 902coverage. Sub-frame 2 902 is generated in sub-frames 2, and sub-frame 7have no constraints related to the 5, 8, and 9. No RF beams 902 are beamforming, because CQI reports generated in generated in sub-frames 1 and6, those sub-frames are related to DCI commands sent which are the Ssub-frames. in an S sub-frame. The S sub-frame data may always Analternative set of sub-frames be transmitted in the Cell-Wide signal,and does not in which the same RF beams 902 present constraints on thenumber of RF beam sets. A may need to be used are: (0, 3, 4, 2)requirement for the beam forming technique is that and (5, 9, 8, 7). theS frames not be used to send DCI commands, or to receive CQI measurementreports for the purpose of determining the UE location, as describedherein. This requirement limits the number of RF beam 902 sets that canbe used to determine the UE location to 2. Sub-frames 2 and 7 may needto therefore be included in one of these RF beam 902 sets, forotherwise, UEs 104 in locations other than the ones illuminated in thetwo for which CQI measurements are returned cannot be located via thealgorithms described herein on Locating UEs 104 within RF Beams 902. 1The HARQ issue presents no constraints on the RF (3, 9, 0, 5)(4, 8, 2,7) beam forming, because the retransmission occurs in hence, two sets ofRF beams 902 the same sub-frame as the original transmission. The can beused in Configuration 1. CQI constraint shows that sub-frames 9, 3 mayneed One set of RF beams 902 is to have the same RF beam 902 coverage,and that generated in sub-frames 0, 3, 5, sub-frames 4, 8 may need tohave the same RF beam and 9; a second set of RF beams 902 coverage.Because the CQI reports may need to 902 is generated in sub-frames 2, beable to identify UEs in any of the beam 902 4, 7, and 8. No RF beams 902are locations, there cannot be more than two sets of RF generated insub-frames 1 and 6, beams. The remaining sub-frames may need to be whichare the S sub-frames. included in either of the two sets of sub-framesin As noted, alternative dual sets of which CQI reports are returned.One example is RF beam 902 may be generated shown in the cell to theright of this one in this table. by assigning sub-frames 0, 2, 5, and 7to the two sets differently than shown above. 2 The HARQ issue presentsno constraints on the RF (2, 8, 0, 4)(3, 7, 5, 9); beam forming sets,because retransmissions occur in hence, two sets of RF beams 902 thesame sub-frame as the original transmission. can be used inConfiguration 2. However, the CQI constrains the use of only two RF Oneset of RF beams 902 is beam patterns, because CQI is returned in justtwo generated in sub-frames 0, 2, 4, sub-frames. These two may need tobe used to locate and 8; a second set of RF beams the UEs in any of theRF beam 902 locations. The 902 is generated in sub-frames 3, CQIrelationships show that sub-frames 2, 8 may need 5, 7, and 9. No RFbeams 902 are to have the same RF beam 902 pattern, and that 3, 7generated in sub-frames 1 and 6, may need to have the same RF beam 902pattern. which are the S sub-frames. The remaining sub-frames may needto be included in one of these two sets of sub-frames. One example isshown in the next table cell. 3 The HARQ issue presents no constraintson the RF (0, 4, 6)(2, 8, 5)(3, 9, 7); beam forming sets, becauseretransmissions occur in hence, three sets of RF beams the samesub-frame as the original transmission. 902 can be used in ConfigurationThere are three sub-frames in which CQI reports are 3. One set of RFbeams 902 is returned, and none are tied to an S sub-frame Hence,generated in sub-frames 0, 4, and three sets of RF beams 902 can beused, with CQI 6; a second set of RF beams 902 reporting constraining 2,8 to have the same RF beam is generated in sub-frames 2, 5, 902 pattern,3, 9 to have the same RF beam 902 and 8; a third set of RF beamspattern, and 4, 0 to have the same RF beam 902 902 is generated insub-frames 3, pattern. The other sub-frames may need to be placed 7, and9. No RF beams 902 are in one of these three sets of sub-frames, andgenerated in sub-frame 1, the S therefore, other combinations of sets ofsub-frames sub-frame. can be used, as long as (2, 8) are kept together,(3, 9) are kept together, and (4, 0) are kept together. 4 The HARQ foruplink re-transmissions does not (2, 8, 0, 4, 6)(3, 9, 5, 7); constrainthe way the RF beams are formed in the hence, two sets of RF beams 902different sub-frames, because X2 is re-transmitted can be used inConfiguration 4. (when necessary) in sub-frame 2, and X3 is re- One setof RF beams 902 is transmitted (when necessary) in sub-frame 3. Withgenerated in sub-frames 0, 2, 4, only two uplink sub-frames, at most twosets of RF 6, and 8; a second set of RF beam patterns can be had,because the CQI values beams 902 is generated in sub- returned in thetwo uplink sub-frames may need to frames 3, 5, 7, and 9. No RF identifyUEs for downlink transmission in all the beams 902 are generated in sub-other (D) sub-frames. The dci/CQI associations frame 1, the S sub-frame.indicate that sub-frames 8, 2 may need to have the same RF beam 902pattern, and that sub-frames 3, 9 may need to have the same RF beam 902pattern. The other sub-frames may need to be collected with either pairto map the remaining sub-frames to the two RF beam 902 patterns. Oneexample is shown in the table cell to the right. 5 Because there is onlyone uplink sub-frame in (2, 8, 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9); Configuration 5,the CQI measurement returned in hence, one set of RF beams 902 thatsub-frame (2) may need to capture the location can be used inConfiguration 5. of the UE regardless of where the UE is located in Thissingle set of RF beams is the Cell coverage area 712. I.e., there isjust one set repeated in sub-frames 0, 2, 3, 4, of RF beams 902 in thisconfiguration, and the entire 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. No RF beams Cellcoverage area 712 may need to be covered by 902 are generated insub-frame 1, this one set of beams. the S sub-frame. 6 HARQ for uplinkretransmissions constrains the (0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9); following pairsof sub-frames to use the same RF hence, one set of RF beams 902 beam 902pattern: (2, 3), (3, 4), (4, 7), (7, 8), (2, 8). The can be used inConfiguration 6. sub-frames when DCI is sent by the eNB 102, and Thissingle set of RF beams 902 the corresponding sub-frames when CQI isreceived is repeated in sub-frames 0, 2, 3, by the eNB 102 constrainsthe following pairs of sub- 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9. No RF beams frames to usethe same RF beam 902 pattern: (9, 4), 902 are generated in sub-frames 1(0, 7), (5, 2). The sub-frame RF beam 902 pattern or 6, the Ssub-frames. constraints overlap across all the sub-frames (except the Ssub-frames, which are not used to send DCI to locate the UEs in thisdisclosure).Locating and Tracking UEs in an RF Beam of a Periodically Scanning RFBeam System

The present disclosure may provide for aspects for locating and trackingusers in conjunction with an RF beam forming technique. The particularbeam forming technique generates N RF beams 902 concurrently, such as ineach 1 msec interval. The N RF beams 902 cover N sub-areas of the totalcoverage area 712 of an LTE Cell, the coverage area 712 being determinedby an LTE Cell using the same total transmit power, but which does notuse the beam forming technique. In the next 1 msec interval, another NRF beams 902 are generated to cover a different set of N sub-areas. Thisprocess may be repeated in an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systemuntil, after 4 msec, the entire Cell coverage area 712 has been coveredby the 4*N RF beams 902. For example, let N=4, so 16 RF beam 902sub-areas cover the entire Cell area 712 in an FDD system. See FIG. 9.

The RF beam forming technique depicted in FIG. 9 does not focus an RFbeam 902 on a particular user equipment (UE 104), as is done in otherbeam forming approaches. Rather, the RF beams 902 are generatedcontinuously each 1 msec, with the same RF beam 902 sub-areas beingcovered every 4 msec in an FDD system. In FIG. 9, four sets ofnon-adjacent sub-areas are illuminated (for transmit) and are focused(for receive) during the same 1 msec time interval.

In an LTE wireless system, downlink transmissions may be scheduled bysoftware in the base station 102 called the Scheduler. The Scheduler mayalso grant permission for uplink transmissions. In this way, thebandwidth available via the LTE air interface is allocated to differentusers at different times in a manner determined by the Scheduler.

When the RF beam forming technique summarized in FIG. 9 is used, it isimportant for the Scheduler to know the current location of each UE, sothat, in a particular 1 msec interval, it can give uplink transmissiongrants only to those UEs 104 in one of the four locations about to befocused by the RF subsystem beam forming in that 1 msec interval.Likewise, the Scheduler may need to schedule downlink transmissions onlyto those UEs 104 who are known to be located in one of the four RF beam902 sub-areas about to be illuminated by the RF subsystem beam formingoperation.

Hence, to enable the effective use of the RF beam forming technique, itmay be essential that the Scheduler know which RF beam 902 covers thecurrent UE location. There are two aspects to this problem that need tobe resolved. One is to determine the RF beam 902 that covers the UE 104location when the UE 104 first accesses the Cell (i.e., during anInitial Attach to the LTE system, or during a Handover into the Cellfrom a neighboring Cell, or during a time when the UE 104 comes out ofthe IDLE state, and re-establishes its connection to the current Cell).The second aspect of this problem is to track the UE 104 as the usermoves across the sub-areas covered by the RF beams 902 generated by theRF subsystem of the Cell. This disclosure provides information thatdiscloses techniques to handle these two aspects, for the purpose ofproving priority in developing the techniques, and for providing theteachings required to locate and track UEs 104 for use with the RF beamforming technique.

In an example, in an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, the ten 1msec sub-frames of each LTE Frame 1002 are divided into a set ofsub-frames used for downlink transmissions and a set of sub-frames usedfor uplink transmissions. There are seven different configurations ofthe sub-frames into k-uplink sub-frames and m-downlink sub-frames. SeeFIG. 10. (The sub-frame labeled “S” is not used in the UE locationalgorithms presented herein.) When the RF beam forming technique is usedin an LTE TDD system, UEs 104 need to be scheduled for uplink anddownlink transmissions in a sub-frame (i.e., 1 msec interval) when an RFbeam 902 covers the UE 104 location. Hence, the need to determine the UE104 location within an RF beam 902, and the need to track the UE 104location across the RF beams 902, are identical to those needs in an LTEFDD system. However, rather than design the RF beams 902 to have apattern that repeats every 4 msec, as in an FDD system, the RF beam 902pattern repeats every 10 msec, or less, in a TDD system, depending onthe Uplink/Downlink configuration chosen for the TDD system. See Table 6for a listing of the sub-frames in each TDD configuration 1002 where theRF beam 902 pattern has to be the same. The number of sets of sub-framestherefore indicates the number of different sets of 4-beam patterns thatcan be sustained in the given TDD configuration 1002.

TABLE 6 Number of RF Beam Patterns Supported in Each TDD ConfigurationTDD U/D Config- uration Sets of Sub-frames that Have Identical BeamPatterns 0 (0, 3, 4, 7) and (5, 9, 8, 2): hence, this configuration 1002supports two beam patterns of 4 beams each. No RF beams 902 aregenerated in sub-frames 1 or 6. 1 (3, 9, 0, 5) and (4, 8, 2, 7): hence,this configuration 1002 supports two beam patterns of 4 beams each. NoRF beams 902 are generated in sub-frames 1 or 6. 2 (2, 8, 0, 4) and (3,5, 7, 9): hence, this configuration 1002 supports two beam patterns of 4beams each. No RF beams 902 are generated in sub-frames 1 or 6. 3 (0, 4,6), (2, 5, 8), and (3, 7, 9): hence, this configuration 1002 supportsthree beam patterns of 4 beams each. No RF beams 902 are generated insub-frame 1. 4 (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) and (3, 5, 7, 9): hence, thisconfiguration 1002 supports two beam patterns of 4 beams each. No RFbeams 902 are generated in sub-frame 1. 5 (0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9):hence, this configuration 1002 supports one 4-beam pattern. No RF beams902 are generated in sub-frame 1. 6 (0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9): hence,this configuration 1002 supports one 4-beam pattern. No RF beams 902 aregenerated in sub-frames 1 or 6.Channel Quality Indicator

To be able to optimize downlink transmissions by adapting the modulationand coding scheme (MCS), the mobile device 104 may need to send channelquality indications (CQI) on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)or on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The CQI is a 4-bitresult that indicates the measurement value. The measurement may eitherbe over the entire frequency range of the Cell bandwidth, or over somesubset of that frequency range. The entire frequency range is dividedinto a set of Physical Resource Blocks, and collections of these aredefined as a “sub-band” for the purpose of making CQI measurements overa frequency range that is less than the total RF bandwidth assigned tothe Cell. In an LTE system, sub-band CQI measurements can be made on anaperiodic basis, where the report is sent via the PUSCH. Periodicwideband CQI measurements can be made using the PUCCH to send the reportto the eNB 102.

When the eNB 102 desires that the UE 104 make a measurement of theChannel Quality and return a CQI measurement value, it sends commandinformation, called Downlink Command Information (DCI), to the UE 104.In an FDD system, if DCI is sent in sub-frame n, the CQI measurement isreported by the UE 104 in sub-frame (n+4). In a TDD system, the DCIcommands are constrained to be sent by the eNB 102 in a subset of thesub-frames used for downlink transmissions. The UE 104 CQI measurementreport is returned to the eNB 102 k sub-frames later, where k depends onthe TDD Uplink/Downlink configuration 1002, and where (n+k) is asub-frame configured for uplink transmission in the TDD system.

A CQI-Based Algorithm for Finding the UE Location after Random Access

UE 104 Initial Location Determination in an FDD System

The eNB 102 system may learn of the existence of a UE 104 in its Cellcoverage area 712 via the Random Access (RA) procedure, in which the UE104 becomes connected via the Cell. To allow the beam forming approachto be used for this UE 104, the current UE 104 location in one of the 16RF beam 902 locations in the FDD system may need to be determined. Thefollowing algorithm uses CQI measurements to determine the UE 104location within an RF beam 902.

In embodiments, right after the eNB 102 sends an RA grant to the UE 104,if there is no contention, the eNB 102 MAC (Medium Access Control)software may send commands in each of 4 successive sub-frames (i.e.,sub-frames n, (n+1), (n+2), and (n+3)) to have the UE 104 provide anaperiodic report of a sub-band CQI value. (If there is contention, thecommands are sent after contention is resolved, i.e., after the eNB 102sends the Contention Resolution message on the PDSCH.) The eNB 102 MACand the PHY (Physical Layer) software may arrange for the selected setof measurement sub-bands to be included in each of the transmit beamsignals in each of the measurement sub-frames to ensure that everytransmit beam has transmit energy from the sub-band focused on theilluminated beam area 902; if the UE 104 is in the illuminated beam area902, it can make the desired CQI measurement of the configuredsub-bands. These aperiodic measurements are returned via the UE 104PUSCH. If the measurement is made in sub-frame n, the report is returnedin sub-frame (n+4) in an FDD system.

The eNB 102 PHY and MAC software look for the UE PUSCH measurements ineach of the four receive beam streams in each of the reporting sub-frameintervals, (n+4), (n+5), (n+6), and (n+7). The receive beams 902 arenarrow, and the areas covered are non-adjacent (see FIG. 9). It meansthat the UE 104 measurement report should generally be received in onlyone sub-frame, and in only one received beam 902 signal for thatsub-frame. It is possible, though, that the eNB 102 may receivemeasurement reports in more than one reporting sub-frame, in onereceive-beam 902 data stream in each of those sub-frames. This situationoccurs if the UE 104 is on the border between RF beam 902 locationareas. In this case, the MAC may select the measurement with the bestCQI value (or pick one of the measurements, if they are the same). TheMAC may note the sub-frame and the received beam 902 signal thatcontains the UE 104 CQI measurement report to determine which of the 16beam 902 locations contains the UE 104. This location is recorded as thecurrent UE 104 location (i.e., the location that the eNB 102 may usewhen sending user plane transmissions to the UE 104, or when schedulingthe UE 104 for uplink transmissions).

UE Initial Location Determination in a TDD System

An approach similar to the one for FDD systems may be used to determinethe UE 104 location within an RF beam 902 when the UE 104 first accessesa TDD system. Depending on the TDD U/D configuration 1002 (see FIG. 10),right after the eNB 102 sends an RA grant to the UE, if there is nocontention, or after contention is resolved in the case of RAcontention, the eNB 102 MAC software may send a command in the firstavailable sub-frame in each of the sets of sub-frames in which thedifferent RF beam 902 patterns are generated for the particular TDD U/Dconfiguration 1002. See Table 6. The commands cause the UE 104 to makean aperiodic report of a sub-band CQI measurement. The eNB 102 MAC andthe PHY may arrange for the selected set of measurement sub-bands to beincluded in each of the transmit beam 902 signals in the sub-frames inwhich the DCI commands are sent to the UE 104. This approach ensuresthat every transmit beam 902 has transmit energy from the sub-bandfocused on the illuminated beam areas 902; if the UE 104 is in anilluminated beam 902 area, it can make the desired CQI measurement ofthe configured sub-bands. (The S sub-frames may not be used to sendthese commands to make aperiodic channel quality measurements for thepurpose of locating the UE 104 in an RF beam area 902.)

These aperiodic measurements are returned via the UE PUSCH. Depending onthe TDD U/D configuration 1002, the sub-frame that can be used to sendthe DCI to make the aperiodic measurement is constrained. See FIG. 10.So, if the measurement is made in sub-frame n, the report is returned insub-frame (n+k) in a TDD system that uses normal Hybrid-ARQ operation.The value that n can be, and the corresponding value of k, are specifiedin TS 36.213 a40. As an example, suppose the UE 104 accesses the Cell insub-frame 2, and that the TDD U/D configuration 1002 being used isConfiguration 0. Using the values in Table 6 and the Configuration 0listed in FIG. 10, the eNB 102 MAC sends a DCI command in sub-frame 5,and receives the report in sub-frame 9. The eNB 102 MAC also sends a DCIcommand in sub-frame 0 of the next LTE frame, and receives thecorresponding CQI measurement report in sub-frame 4 of that LTE frame.

The eNB 102 PHY and MAC look for the UE 104 PUSCH measurements in eachof the four receive beam 902 streams in each of the reporting sub-frameintervals, which depend on the TDD U/D Configuration 1002. The receivebeams 902 are narrow, and the areas covered are non-adjacent, wherepossible (in the case of Configuration 5 or 6, only one set of RF beams902 is repeated in every U or D sub-frame, so some of the RF beam 902areas may need to be adjacent to one another). It means that the UE 104measurement report should generally be received in only one sub-frame,and in only one received beam 902 signal for that sub-frame. It ispossible, though, that the eNB 102 may receive measurement reports inmore than one reporting sub-frame, and/or in more than one receive-beam902 data stream in each of those sub-frames. This situation occurs ifthe UE 104 is on the border between RF location areas 902. In this case,the MAC may select the measurement with the best CQI value (or pick oneof the measurements if they are the same, and/or pick one of the receiveRF beam 902 signals, if the report is received in more than one receiveRF beam signal). The MAC may note the sub-frame and the received beam902 signal that contains the UE 104 CQI measurement report to determinewhich of the RF beam 902 locations contains the UE 104. This location isrecorded as the current UE 104 location (i.e., the location the eNB 102may use when sending user plane transmissions to the UE 104, or whenscheduling the UE 104 for uplink transmissions).

A CQI-Based Algorithm for Tracking the UE Location

UE Location Tracking in an FDD System

Once the UE 104 location is determined after it completes the RandomAccess procedure, the UE 104 needs to be tracked, in case it moves toanother RF beam 902 location within the same Cell coverage area 712. Thefollowing algorithm uses CQI reporting to track the UE 104 across theset of RF beam 902 locations that overlay the Cell coverage area 712 inan FDD system.

A value K (some number of hundreds of msec, e.g., K=20 for a 2000 msecinterval) may be provisioned for periodic checking of the UE 104location. The eNB 102 MAC may perform a CQI-based UE 104 locationdetermination algorithm that is similar to the one specified above forthe case of initial access to the FDD Cell. Hence, commands may be sentto the UE 104 to perform aperiodic CQI reporting in four consecutivesub-frames, n, (n+1), (n+2), and (n+3). UE 104 measurement reports arethus sent via the PUSCH in sub-frames (n+4), (n+5), (n+6), and (n+7). Asin the case of the UE 104 location determination upon completion of theRandom Access procedure, the eNB 102 MAC ensures that the sub-bandPhysical Resource Blocks (PRBs) selected for measurement are included ineach of the transmit beam signals in each of the measurement sub-frames.The eNB 102 PHY and MAC look for the UE 104 PUSCH measurement reports ineach of the four receive beam 902 streams in each of the reportingsub-frame intervals, (n+4), (n+5), (n+6), and (n+7). The receive beams902 are narrow, and the areas covered are non-adjacent. It means thatthe UE 104 measurement report should generally be received in only onesub-frame, and in only one received beam 902 signal in that sub-frame.The MAC may note the sub-frame and the received beam signal to determinewhich of the 16 beam locations 902 contains the UE.

Because the RF beams 902 in any sub-frame are narrow, and covernon-adjacent areas, the eNB 102 MAC should recover a measurement fromonly one receive beam 902 stream in any given reporting sub-frame.However, if the UE 104 is on the border between two or more RF beam 902locations, the eNB 102 MAC may receive measurement reports in each of 2,3, or in all 4 of the measurement reporting sub-frames. The MAC recordsthe UE 104 location, or locations (up to four), in a temporary data setassigned to the UE 104. If the current UE 104 location is not among theones determined via the just-received measurement reports, and if morethan one UE-location has been determined, the MAC selects the UE 104location associated with the best returned CQI value, and updates thecurrent UE 104 location accordingly. If the current UE 104 location isamong the ones just reported, or if it is the only one reported, thecurrent UE 104 location is not updated at this point in time.

Whether the current UE 104 location has been updated at this point, ornot, the aperiodic CQI reporting is repeated at H msec intervals (aprovisioned number of 20 msec intervals, e.g., H=25 for making aperiodicmeasurements every 500 ms) until a single UE 104 location is determined,and which does not change for M (a provisioned value) consecutive H*20msec intervals. If the K msec periodic UE 104 check interval occursbefore the UE 104 location determined from the reports remains fixed inM consecutive reports, the K msec periodic location check is notperformed for this UE 104, and the check for M consecutive fixed UE 104location determinations is continued at the H*20 msec rate.

If the UE 104 location determination remains fixed in M consecutiveaperiodic reporting instances, update the UE 104 location information ifit has changed, cancel the H*20 msec running of the CQI-based locationcheck procedure, and resume operation of the K msec UE 104 locationcheck procedure for this UE. This repeating of the 4 consecutivesub-frames CQI measurement procedure handles the case where the UE 104is on the boundary of different coverage areas illuminated by the RFbeams 902, or oscillates between RF beam 902 locations. (Note: thesub-band CQI measurement interval is 1 sub-frame, namely, the sub-framein which the UE 104 receives a command to make an aperiodic CQImeasurement.)

UE Location Tracking in a TDD System

An approach similar to the one for FDD systems may be used to track theUE 104 location within an RF beam 902 as the UE 104 moves across theCell coverage area 712 of a TDD system.

A value K (some number of hundreds of msec, e.g., K=20 for a 2000 msecinterval) is provisioned for periodic checking of the UE 104 location.The eNB 102 MAC shall perform a CQI-based UE 104 location determinationalgorithm that is similar to the one specified above for the case ofinitial access to the TDD Cell. Hence, commands are sent to the UE 104to perform aperiodic CQI reporting in each of the sub-frames in which aDCI command can be sent to initiate the aperiodic CQI measurement,except that the S sub-frames are not used for this purpose. The numberof DCI commands sent is thus equal to the number of RF beam 902 setsgenerated in the particular TDD U/D Configuration 1002 (see Table 6). UE104 measurement reports are thus sent via the PUSCH in sub-framesappropriate for the particular TDD configuration 1002 in effect for theCell. The receive beams 902 are narrow, but the RF beam areas 902covered in the TDD system in a given sub-frame may, or may not benon-adjacent. It means that the UE 104 measurement report shouldgenerally be received in only one sub-frame, and in only one receivedbeam 902 signal in that sub-frame. It is possible, though, that the eNB102 may receive measurement reports in more than one reportingsub-frame, and/or in more than one receive-beam 902 data stream in eachof those sub-frames. If the report is received in only one sub-frame,and in only one receive RF beam 902 signal, the MAC may note thesub-frame and the received beam 902 signal to determine which of the RFbeam 902 locations contains the UE 104.

However, if the UE 104 is on the border between two or more RF beam 902locations, the eNB 102 MAC may receive measurement reports in each ofthe measurement reporting sub-frames, and/or in more than one receive RFbeam 902 signals in one or more of the reporting sub-frames. The MACrecords the UE 104 location, or locations, in a temporary data setassigned to the UE 104. If the current UE 104 location is not among theones determined via the just-received measurement reports, and if morethan one UE-location has been determined, the MAC selects the UE 104location associated with the best returned CQI value, and updates thecurrent UE 104 location accordingly. If the current UE 104 location isamong the ones just reported, or if it is the only one reported, thecurrent UE 104 location is not updated at this point in time.

Whether the current UE 104 location has been updated at this point, ornot, the aperiodic CQI reporting is repeated at H msec intervals (aprovisioned number of 20 msec intervals, e.g., H=25 for making aperiodicmeasurements every 500 msec) until a single UE 104 location isdetermined, and which does not change for M (a provisioned value)consecutive H*20 msec intervals. If the K msec periodic UE 104 checkinterval occurs before the UE 104 location determined from the reportsremains fixed in M consecutive reports, the K msec periodic locationcheck is not performed for this UE 104, and the check for M consecutivefixed UE 104 location determinations is continued at the H*20 msec rate.

If the UE 104 location determination remains fixed in M consecutiveaperiodic reporting instances, update the UE 104 location information ifit has changed, cancel the H*20 msec running of the CQI-based locationcheck procedure, and resume operation of the K msec UE 104 locationcheck procedure for this UE 104. This repeating of the CQI measurementprocedure handles the case where the UE 104 is on the boundary ofdifferent coverage areas illuminated by the RF beams 902, or oscillatesbetween RF beam 902 locations. (Note: the sub-band CQI measurementinterval is 1 sub-frame, namely, the sub-frame in which the UE 104receives a command to make an aperiodic CQI measurement.)

The Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) in LTE Systems

The LTE standard defines an optional Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) inthe uplink direction. It is transmitted by a UE 104 using a knownsequence, and using a set of PRBs assigned by the eNB 102 MAC software.The SRS can be scheduled when the UE 104 is not transmitting user data,and is generally used to make estimates of the uplink channelconditions. The eNB 102 MAC can schedule periodic transmissions of theSRS with a period as low as 2 sub-frames. The eNB 102 MAC can alsoschedule a single aperiodic SRS transmission. The SRS is detected at theeNB 102 and processed by the PHY layer. The PHY layer reports to the MAClayer the received SRS signal-to-noise level per Resource Block assignedfor the SRS. Reference the Femto Forum, Doc. No. FF_Tech003_v1.11 page104, 2010.

An SRS-Based Algorithm for Finding the UE Location after Random Access

UE Initial Location Determination in an FDD System

The UE 104 location determination algorithm for an FDD system mayoperate the same way as when using the CQI reports, except that insteadof having the eNB 102 MAC command the UE 104 to make CQI measurements infour successive sub-frames, it commands the UE 104 to send an SRS ineach of four successive sub-frames. These are aperiodic SRStransmissions. Each SRS transmission is sent in a sub-frame offsetdefined for all UEs 104 by a Cell-specific parameter. The SRStransmissions received at the eNB 102 may be used in a manner similar toway the CQI measurements are used at the eNB 102 to determine the RFbeam 902 that covers the UE 104 location.

UE Initial Location Determination in a TDD System

The UE 104 location determination algorithm for a TDD system may operatethe same way as when using the CQI reports, except that instead ofhaving the eNB 102 MAC command the UE 104 to make CQI measurements inthe first available sub-frame in each of the sets of sub-frames in whichthe different RF beam 902 patterns are generated for the particular TDDU/D configuration 1002, it commands the UE 104 to send an SRS in thosesub-frames. Each SRS report is returned in a sub-frame offset definedfor all UEs 104 by a Cell-specific parameter. The SRS transmissionsreceived at the eNB 102 may be used in a manner similar to way the CQImeasurements are used at the eNB 102 to determine the RF beam 902 thatcovers the UE 104 location.

An SRS-Based Algorithm for Tracking the UE Location

UE Location Tracking in an FDD System

The UE 104 location tracking algorithm for an FDD system may operate thesame way as when using the CQI reports, except that instead of havingthe eNB 102 MAC command the UE 104 to make CQI measurements in foursuccessive sub-frames, it commands the UE 104 to send an SRS in each offour successive sub-frames. The commands and reports are generated perthe period values defined in the CQI-based tracking procedure outlinedherein for an FDD system. These are aperiodic SRS reports. Each SRSreport is returned in a sub-frame offset defined for all UEs 104 by aCell-specific parameter. The SRS transmissions received at the eNB 102may be used in a manner similar to way the CQI measurements are used atthe eNB 102 to track the UE 104 as it moves from one RF beam 902 thatcovers the UE 104 location to another RF beam 902 that covers the UE 104location.

UE Location Tracking in a TDD System

The UE 104 location tracking algorithm for a TDD system may operate thesame way as when using the CQI reports, except that instead of havingthe eNB 102 MAC command the UE 104 to make CQI measurements in the firstavailable sub-frame in each of the sets of sub-frames in which thedifferent RF beam 902 patterns are generated for the particular TDD U/Dconfiguration 1002, it commands the UE 104 to send an SRS in thosesub-frames. The commands and reports are generated per the period valuesdefined in the CQI-based tracking procedure outlined herein for a TDDsystem. These are aperiodic SRS reports. Each SRS report is returned ina sub-frame offset defined for all UEs 104 by a Cell-specific parameter.The SRS transmissions received at the eNB 102 may be used in a mannersimilar to way the CQI measurements are used at the eNB 102 to track theUE 104 as it moves from one RF beam 902 that covers the UE 104 locationto another RF beam 902 that covers the UE 104 location.

Efficient Delivery of Real-Time Event Services Over a Wireless Network

A Real-Time Event service 1502 is a service that delivers the sameinformation content (e.g., video and audio) concurrently to multipleusers. Examples include the delivery of the State of the Union Address.The event does not have to occur in real time; delivery of pre-recordedTV programs to users who see and hear the same content at the same timeconstitutes another example of this type of service. It may be difficultto offer real-time event services using the architecture shown inFIG. 1. In a typical deployment, there may be on the order of 600 eNB102 elements that provide coverage for a particular geographic region.In the case of wireless users using today's architecture (i.e., FIG. 1),it may mean that each end-user 104 connects to a server 124 thatdelivers these data streams, and the data streams may be sent from theserver 124 to each end-user independently of delivery to other endusers. The situation is depicted in FIG. 12 for the case of 6 LTEwireless users 104 receiving the service. Note that the Real Time EventServer 124 may maintain a separate connection to each wireless user, so6 connections, and 6 independent packet transmissions for video and 6independent packet transmissions for audio may be required at the RealTime Event Server 124. Note, too, that the PGW 114 may handle thedelivery of the 6 video streams and the 6 audio streams to the SGW 110element, and that the SGW 110 element may deliver the 6 video streamsand the 6 audio streams to the eNB 102 elements that serve theindividual LTE users 104. Finally, each LTE eNB 102 element delivers theseparate video and audio streams to the end users 104 who access thesystem via that eNB. Hence, one eNB 102 may handle the over-the-airdelivery of packets for three users 104, another may do so for two users104, a third eNB 102 may do so for one user 104 in the example shown inFIG. 12.

If the video data stream rate is 500 kbps (a typical rate), and theaudio stream rate is 32 kbps (a typical rate), the example in FIG. 12would have the Real Time event server 124 handling six independentconnections, and sending about 3 Mbps to these end users. Likewise, thePGW 114 and SGW 110 may handle packet transfers of similar rates. Theserates are well within the capabilities of today's servers and wirelessnetwork elements. However, 6 users of the service is just an example. Arealistic situation may have 60,000 users 104 distributed across the 600eNB 102 elements concurrently watching the Real Time Event (e.g., a TVshow, a sporting event, a political event). With the architecture ofFIG. 1, the Real Time event server 124 may have to support 60,000 userconnections, and deliver an aggregate data rate of 60,000 times 500kbps, or 30 Gbps. This rate far exceeds the capabilities of today'sservers 124. Multiple servers 124 may need to be employed (e.g., 10servers 124) to bring the transmission rate at each server to amanageable value. Likewise, with multiple servers 124 employed, thenumber of user connections at each server may be reduced to a moremanageable value of, perhaps, 6,000 per server. The economics ofdeploying about 10 Real Time Event servers 124 to deliver this serviceto 60,000 concurrent users may not be palatable to the service provider.

The situation at the PGW 114 cannot be remedied so easily. It is noteconomical to deploy many PGW 114 elements that serve large geographicalregions, and in the case of serving 60,000 wireless users 104 for thisReal Time Event service, the PGW 114 must handle the transit of 30 Gbps,a daunting task, which may be resolved only at great expense using thearchitecture of FIG. 1. The situation with the SGW 110 element may notbe as bad as it is for the PGW 114 element, because in practice, thereare several SGW 110 elements that serve subsets of the 600 eNB 102elements in a region. At the eNB 102 elements, each eNB 102 element mayhave to deliver the service to each of around 100 users 104 connectedthrough its Cells, and hence, each eNB 102 element has to handledelivery of 50 Mbps over the LTE air interface. While this value may beslightly beyond the capabilities of today's LTE eNB 102 elements, it maybe well within the capability of the APN beam forming RF systempresented in FIG. 9. However, each eNB 102 may then be required tosupport 50 Mbps utilization on its back haul 112 interface to receivethe packets for its users from the SGW 110 element. This value may beproblematic and costly to resolve at each eNB 102. If it is not resolveduniformly across the LTE wireless network, the user experience suffers,depending on which eNB 102 is used to access the LTE wireless network.

From the above, it may be seen that the difficulties involved inproviding Real Time Event services (including commercial TV servicedelivery) to wireless users may involve the number of connectionsrequired at the Real Time Event Server 124, the data transmission raterequired at the Real Time Event Server 124 and at the PGW 114 element,and secondarily, the real time data transmission rate required at theSGW 110, and the transmission capacity taken on the back haul 112interface to each eNB 102 element.

An Architecture for Efficient and Economical Real Time Event Delivery

The issues related to the economical delivery of Real Time Eventservices in an LTE network may be resolved, if a distributedPublish/Subscribe (P/S) architecture concept is introduced into the APNwireless network to augment the capabilities of the Optimization Server202 and 204. FIG. 13 shows an architecture that deploys thePublish/Subscribe Broker programs 1304 on a set of computing nodes 1302.One or more P/S Brokers 1304 may be deployed on each computing node1302, depending on the number of entities expected to connect at eachcomputing node 1302. Each communicating entity (i.e., a user device or aserver) may connect to a single P/S Broker 1304 to receive the servicesof the P/S Broker architecture. End points may not connect directly toeach other in this architecture. The packets that comprise a particulardata stream may be identified by a tag called a Topic. A packet within aTopic stream may be referred to as an Event. In FIG. 13, one entity 1308connected to a P/S Broker 1304 at Node 1 1302 may Publish a stream ofpackets, where the Publisher 1308 inserts the stream Topic into eachpacket. Meanwhile, 10 other users 1310 (i.e., end user devices, orprograms running on other computers) may have previously Subscribed tothis Topic. These users 1310 may be distributed across the threecomputing Nodes 1302 shown in FIG. 13, in each case connecting to theP/S Broker 1304 that runs on its attachment Node 1302.

The P/S Broker 1304 network is designed to distribute the Publishedpackets to all the destinations that have Subscribed to the given Topic.P/S Broker 1 1304 knows to distribute the packet to P/S Broker 2 1304within its own Node 1 1302, and also knows to distribute the packet tothe two entities 1310 directly connected to it that have Subscribed tothe Published Topic. P/S Broker 2 1304 knows to distribute the packet toP/S Broker 3 1304 on Node 2 1302 and to P/S Broker 5 1304 on Node 31302, and also knows to distribute the packet to the two entities 1310directly connected to it that have Subscribed to the Published Topic.P/S Broker 5 1304 knows to distribute the packet to its three directlyconnected entities 1310 that have subscribed to the Published Topic. P/SBroker 3 1304 knows to distribute the packet to P/S Broker 4 1304 and toits two directly connected entities 1310 that have Subscribed to thePublished Topic. Finally, P/S Broker 4 1304 knows to distribute thepacket to the single directly connected entity 1310 that has Subscribedto the Published Topic. The Publisher sends one packet, and the P/SBroker network takes care of packet replication whenever it is needed.Each packet is replicated at each P/S Broker 1304 only to the extentthat is necessary. Thus, the P/S Broker network distributes the task ofreplicating packets in an efficient manner.

A distributed set of Publish/Subscribe (P/S) Brokers 1304 may be set upto run on the set of Optimization Servers 202, 204 shown in FIG. 2,where the P/S Brokers 1304 may use the Publish/Subscribe communicationsparadigm to route packets efficiently between an entity 1308 thatPublishes a packet stream and all entities 1310 that Subscribe toreceive packets from that stream Topic. See an example deployment inFIG. 14.

As described previously herein, a technique is described that may beused to redirect a UE 104 dedicated bearer 312, so it has a localOptServereNB 308 as its end point, rather than the usual SGW 110 endpoint. If each UE 104 in FIG. 14 is connected via its redirected bearerto the OptServereNB 308 associated with its serving eNB 102, the UE 104may connect to the P/S Broker 1304 program that runs on that computer.Note that in FIG. 14, a P/S Broker 1304 program may also run on theServer 124 that may be located in the Internet, remote from the LTEWireless Network. All the P/S Brokers 1304 in FIG. 14 may beinterconnected into a logical Publish/Subscribe Broker networkinginfrastructure.

If the Server 124 remotely connected via the Internet provides a RealTime Event service 1502, the P/S Broker 1304 network arrangement shownin FIG. 14 may be seen to eliminate the problems that occur in providingthis service when the traditional architecture of FIG. 1 is used todeliver it. See FIG. 15 for the results that may be obtained when usingthe Publish/Subscribe Broker architecture in conjunction with the bearerredirection technique previously described herein.

The previously discussed issues relating the problems in providing aReal Time Event Service 1502 to wireless users 104 may now be seen to beresolved. The entity 1502 that generates the Real Time Event data streamconnects to one P/S Broker, and no end user 104 device connects directlyto it. The issue of maintaining 60,000 concurrent user connections maybe seen to resolve into maintaining a single connection (which may alsobe used to deliver other services, besides the Real Time Event service).Furthermore, the Real Time Event service program 1502 generates onevideo packet per video time frame, and one audio packet per audio timeframe, to send into the P/S Broker network, and it may be seen that itis no longer required that this program generate 60,000 video packetsper video time frame, and 60,000 audio packets per audio time frame, tosend to the 60,000 concurrent end users 104. It may be seen that packetreplication is performed by the P/S Broker network, when necessary. Itmay be seen that one Real Time Event Server 124 can handle delivery ofthe service to 60,000 concurrent users 104, and that a multiplicity ofReal Time Event servers 124 is no longer required. The economics ofdelivering this service may therefore be seen to be improved comparedwith using the current wireless network architecture.

Furthermore, it may be seen that the Internet and the long haul networknow carries one packet per video time frame, and one packet per audiotime frame, instead of 60,000 of each per time frame. Therefore, it maybe seen that the long haul network bandwidth utilization has beenreduced from 30 Gbps to 500 kbps, a reduction by a factor of 60,000.

It may be seen that because of the presence of the OptServerPGW 304 andthe OptServereNB 308 servers associated with the eNB 102 elements, thePGW 114 is no longer is involved in routing the packets for thisservice. The capacity of the PGW 114 may be retained to deliver otherservices. The packets are routed by the P/S Broker 1304 on theOptServerPGW 304 to a P/S Broker 1304 on each of the OptServereNB 308servers that have UEs 104 that Subscribe to the Real Time Event servicedata streams. To relate the situation in FIG. 15 to the one extrapolated(to 60,000 users) from FIG. 12, it is supposed that each of the 600 eNB102 elements have 100 UEs 104 that Subscribe to the Real Time Eventservice. Hence, the P/S Broker 1304 on the OptServerPGW 304 replicatesby 600 times a video packet per video time frame, and an audio packetper audio time frame, and forwards each of these packets to anOptServereNB 308 server. The transmission rate at the OptServerPGW 304may thus be seen to be 600 times 500 kbps, or 300 Mbps, a value that mayreasonably be handled by today's server computers. Furthermore, thetransmission rate over the LTE back haul network to each OptServereNB308 may be seen to be 500 kbps, rather than the 50 Mbps required usingtoday's architecture, a reduction by a factor of 100.

It may also be observed that the need to distribute the Real Time Eventservice packets at a 300 Mbps rate by the OptServerPGW 304 may bereduced by having more than one server instance associated with the PGW114. For example, if five OptServerPGW 304 instances are deployed, witheach covering 120 of the 600 OptServereNB 308 servers, then the datarate required from each OptServerPGW 304 instance to deliver the RealTime Event service is reduced to 60 Mbps.

At each OptServereNB 308, the P/S Broker 1304 receives one video packetper video time frame, and one audio packet per audio time frame (i.e.,about a 500 kbps rate) from the P/S Broker 1304 running on theOptServerPGW 304, and distributes the packets to its directly connectedUE 104 entities. In this example, it is assumed that each eNB 102supports 100 UEs involved with the Real Time Event service, so thetransmit data rate at the OptServereNB 308 may be seen to be 100 times500 kbps, or 50 Mbps. This value may likewise be seen to be viable usingtoday's server computer technology.

The integration of the Publish/Subscribe Broker architecture, the bearerredirection capability, and the Optimization Servers into the LTEwireless network in this disclosure may be seen to enable the economicaldelivery of Real Time Event services, including commercial TV, towireless users.

Implementing Active-Hot Standby Redundancy in Server Architectures Usingthe Publish/Subscribe Paradigm

In an Active-Hot Standby Redundancy architecture, two identical serviceinstances, 1602 and 1604, are installed in the network. The servers 124that run each service instance may be located far from its mate server124, or may be co-located with the mate server 124, but placed ondifferent power supplies. The actual deployment situation may depend onthe expected failure modes pertaining to the servers 124. The Standbyservice instance 1604 may maintain state information for every Sessionmaintained at the Active service instance 1602 that it is poised toreplace. When a failure occurs in the Active instance 1602, the Standbyinstance 1604 promotes itself to Active, and assumes all aspects of theservice identity and role of the Active instance 1602 it is replacing.Service to user entities continues without interruption, althoughtransactions that are ongoing just as the failure occurs may be lost.

KeepAlive messaging may be used between the Active and Standbyinstances, 1602 and 1604, so the Standby instance 1604 can determinewhen to promote itself to the Active state, and assume the functions andall aspects of the service identity of the failed instance it isreplacing.

When point-to-point communications architectures are used, it maygenerally be difficult to transfer the state information from the Activeto the Standby instance. Maintaining lock-step state information at boththe Active Service instance 1602 and at the Standby Service instance1604 may involve a great deal of overhead at the Active Service instance1602 in providing state information to the Standby Service instance1604. In typical implementations where, as in this case, the serviceinstances may execute on different computing nodes, state changes mayfirst be accumulated on the Active instance 1602, and then transferredto the Standby instance 1604. Hence, many CPU cycles may be used in theActive instance 1602 host to implement the Hot Standby architecture.

When the Publish/Subscribe paradigm is used with the distributed P/SBroker architecture described herein, it may be much easier to maintaina common state in the Active and Standby instances, 1602 and 1604. TheStandby instance 1604 may be programmed to Subscribe to the exact sameTopics as does the Active service instance 1602, including Topics withthe unique instance ID tag used by the Active instance 1602. Hence,without any actions being taken on the part of the Active instance 1602,the Standby instance 1604 may receive exactly the same messages that theActive instance 1602 receives. The Standby instance 1604 may processthese messages in exactly the same way that the Active instance 1602does, except that while the Active instance 1602 Publishes responses andother service-specific messages, the Standby instance 1604 may notPublish any service-specific messages. The state information kept in theStandby instance 1604 thus may be kept in lock step with the stateinformation kept in the Active instance 1602.

Each service instance may have an instanceID value that distinguishesone service instance from another. These values may be used in theKeepAlive exchanges used by the Standby instance 1604 to monitor theoperational state of the Active instance(s) 1602. The KeepAliveinteractions shown in FIG. 16 and discussed herein may be used in thisActive-Hot Standby Redundancy architecture. Because the Standby serviceinstance 1604 is already using the same instance ID that the Activeservice instance 1602 uses for service-specific interactions, there isno need for the Standby instance 1604 to assume the service identity ofthe failed Active instance 1602 when a Role change occurs. The Standbyservice instance 1604 promotes itself to Active, and turns ON a softwareswitch that allows it to Publish the messages it formerly did notPublish while it was in the Standby state. All service sessions continuewithout interruption, with the previously Standby instance 1604 nowproviding the service.

The paragraphs above indicate how the Standby instance 1604 may monitoran Active service instance 1602, and assumes all aspects of the role ofthe Active instance 1602, when the Active instance 1602 fails (includingPublishing service-specific messages). This Active-Hot StandbyRedundancy architecture may also be shown to work when a single Standbyinstance 1604 is ready to replace any of N Active service instances1602. In this case, the Standby instance 1604 Subscribes to the serviceTopics that each of the monitored Active instances 1602 Subscribe to.The session state information may be organized on the Standby instance1604 in a way that allows identification of a service session with aspecific Active service instance 1602. Also, the Standby instance 1604may maintain a separate KeepAlive exchange with each Active serviceinstance 1602 that it is monitoring. When a failure is detected in anActive service instance 1602, the Standby instance 1604 promotes itselfto Active, deletes the session state information for all but thesessions associated with the service instance 1602 that it is replacing,un-Subscribes from all service-specific Topics, except for those of theservice instance 1602 it is replacing, and turns ON the software switchthat hitherto prevents it from Publishing service-specific messages. Theservice sessions previously handled by the service instance 1602 thathas failed are now handled by the Standby (now Active) service instance1604. The newly promoted Active service instance may also report to anElement Management System 802 (EMS), indicating the failure of aspecific Service instance 1602, and the assumption of an Active servicerole by the reporting service instance 1604.

It may be seen how the Active-Hot Standby Service Redundancyarchitecture disclosed herein using the P/S Broker messaging system canbe used to provide a Hot Standby Redundancy server for the Real TimeEvent Service 1502 described in this disclosure. A Hot-Standby redundantserver 124 may be deployed in addition to the Real Time Event server 124shown in FIG. 15. The Service program 1502 running on the Standby server124 may exchange KeepAlive messages with the Active service instance1502 shown in FIG. 15 to determine the operational state of the Activeinstance 1502. Meanwhile, the Standby service 1502 Subscribes via theP/S Broker network to the same Topics as does the Active instance 1502,and may therefore maintain the same state information that is kept onthe Active service instance 1502.

Using Keep-Alive Messages to Monitor the State of an Active Instance

The service instances, 1602 and 1604, may implement a method todetermine whether they assume the Active state, or the Standby state,when they initialize. Further, the Standby instance 1604 and the Activeinstance(s) 1602 may implement a KeepAlive communication exchange, sothe Standby instance 1604 can determine when an Active instance 1602 hasfailed. The repetition rate of the KeepAlive messages may determine therapidity with which the Standby instance 1604 can determine the failureof an Active instance 1602, and promote itself to the Active state.Usually, a configured number of contiguous non-replies to KeepAlivemessages sent by the Standby instance 1604 may be used to declare thefailure of an Active instance 1602. The processing of the KeepAlivemessages may be given priority, so false declarations of serviceinstance failures do not occur.

FIG. 16 shows an example of KeepAlive messaging that may be used in thisredundancy architecture. The interactions all occur using the connectionof the Service programs to the P/S Broker instance 1304 that runs ontheir server 124, 304, 308, machine. However, the passing of messagesthrough the P/S Broker 1304 architecture is omitted in FIG. 16 for thesake of simplicity. The Active service instance(s) 1602 and the Standbyservice instance 1604 may execute on different Server machines (124,304, 308), because it is the failure of a Server (124, 304, 308) that isbeing overcome in the redundancy architecture. Furthermore, the Activeservice instances 1602 do not initiate the sending of KeepAlivemessages, but always respond to a received KeepAlive message.

In the design of these service instances, 1602, 1604, each instance of<serviceType> may be configured with an <instanceID>. Also, severalTopics (e.g., ext strings) may be hard-coded for communicating theKeepAlive messages. All Active service instances 1602 of <serviceType>may Subscribe to the Topic ServiceControl/<serviceType>/KeepAlive. Inaddition, when a service instance is Initializing, it must determinewhether it is Active or Standby, so it Subscribes to the TopicServiceContra<serviceType>/KeepAlive/<instanceID>, where <instanceID>may be a value assigned to its own service instance. The initializingprogram may also Subscribe to the TopicServiceContra<serviceType>/KeepAlive. The latter Topic may be used toreceive KeepAlive messages from another service instance that is eitherInitializing, or is in the Standby state. Although there can be N Activeservice instances 1602, there is only one Standby service instance 1604.Hence, when a service instance determines that it is the Standbyinstance 1604, it Subscribes to the TopicServiceContra<serviceType>/KeepAlive, and also Subscribes toServiceContra<serviceType>/KeepAlive/Standby. The former Subscription isused to receive KeepAlive messages from Active service instances 1602that, for some reason, restart.

When a service instance Initializes, it may send a single KeepAlivemessage at a periodic configured rate to the TopicServiceContra<serviceType>/KeepAlive, and may indicate in the messagepayload that its state is “Initializing,” and may also include its<instanceID>. The P/S Broker 1304 messaging system takes care ofreplicating this packet when there is more than one service instance1602 being backed up in the redundancy architecture. Each serviceinstance that receives this message responds by Publishing aKeepAliveResp message to the TopicServiceContra<serviceType>/KeepAlive/<instanceID>, where the<instanceID> is the value received in the KeepAlive message. Hence, themessage may be routed by the P/S Broker 1304 system only to theInitializing service instance. The KeepAliveResp message contains thestate of the sending instance, and the <instanceID> of the sendinginstance.

If the Initializing instance receives responses from all N Activeservice instances 1602 (the value N may be configured into each serviceinstance), the Initializing instance changes its state to Standby,un-Subscribes from ServiceContra<serviceType>/KeepAlive/<instanceID>,and adds a Subscription to the TopicServiceControl/<serviceType>/KeepAlive/Standby. Alternatively, if theInitializing service instance receives (N−1) replies from Activeinstances 1602, plus one from the Standby instance 1604, theInitializing service instance promotes itself to Active, un-Subscribesfrom Servicelnstance/<serviceType>/KeepAlive/<instanceID>, and leavesits Subscription to ServiceControll<serviceType>/KeepAlive.

When fewer than N KeepAlive responses are received from Active instances1602, or from fewer than (N−1) Active instances 1602 plus the Standbyinstance 1604, after a configured number of KeepAlive attempts, theInitializing instance may promote itself to the Active state.

Finally, if the Initializing instance receives responses from otherservice instances, where the total number of replies is N, and someresponses indicate service instances in the Active state, and otherresponses indicate service instances in the Initializing state, but noresponse indicates the Standby state, then the sending service instancemay promote itself to the Active state if its <instanceID> is a smallernumber than the <instanceID> values of all the other Initializinginstances, and promotes itself to the Standby state if its <instanceID>is larger than the values of all the other service instances reportingthemselves to be in the Initializing state.

It may be seen from the above that the logic to determine theActive/Standby status of a service instance is complex. FIG. 16 showsthe KeepAlive interactions for one Active service instance 1602 and aStandby Service instance 1604. The P/S Broker 1304 subsystem is notshown to keep the figure as uncluttered as possible. Also, not all thecases described in the above paragraphs are illustrated in FIG. 16 forthe sake of simplicity. Those skilled in the art may note that thedescriptions herein constitute a complete algorithm for determining theActive or Standby state of an initializing service instance.

Note that FIG. 16 shows that when a Standby instance 1604 promotesitself to Active, it may retain its <instanceID> identity for KeepAlivemessage exchanges, but may use the <instanceID> of the service instanceit is replacing for all Service-specific message. Doing so allows UEs104 whose sessions have been interrupted at the failed service instanceto restart those service sessions, or resume them, at the replacementservice instance, using the same service instance ID value obtained atthe start of the service session. An alarm message may also be generatedby the formerly Standby service instance 1604 to report the failure of aspecific service instance 1602, and to report the state change of theStandby instance 1604 to the Active state. The alarm message is notshown in FIG. 16.

Architecture that Conserves Back Haul Utilization when ProvidingServices to Wireless Users

Disclosed herein provides how to use an Optimization Server architecturethat is integrated into an LTE Wireless network, plus a means ofallowing a UE 104 to be connected to an Optimization Server 308associated with its serving eNB 102 via a redirected bearer 312, plus aPublish/Subscribe Broker architecture to provide efficient delivery ofReal Time Event services to wireless users. In the Real Time Eventservice, many users are receiving the same information (e.g., video,audio) at the same time. One of the efficiencies provided by thearchitecture is the great reduction in back haul 112 utilizationcompared with the utilization needed when today's architecture is usedto provide the service.

Other types of services distribute the same information (e.g., video,audio) to many users, but do not do so at the same time. One example maybe a Streaming Movie Delivery service. In this service, many users mayelect to view the same movie, or video, but do so at different times. Ifthe traditional architecture shown in FIG. 1 is used, each such end user104 in the LTE wireless network receives a unique video data stream anda unique audio data stream that traverses the Internet 122, the longhaul network 804, the elements of the Enhanced Packet Core (EPC) network(PGW 114 and SGW 110), the back haul network 112 connecting theirserving eNB 102 to the EPC, and the LTE air interface.

A better approach may be to use the set of Optimization Servers 304 and308 described in this disclosure, along with the Publish/SubscribeBroker architecture, as shown in FIG. 14. It may be noted that if theService (e.g., Streaming Movie Delivery Service (SMD) 1702 is providedat the OptServereNB servers 308 shown in FIG. 14, and if the UE 104dedicated bearer redirection 312 shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 is invokedfor each user desiring to receive the Streaming Movie Delivery service1702, then the movie delivery to each such user does not use the LTEback haul network 112. The video and audio packet streams may be seen totraverse the path from the OptServereNB 308 associated with the userserving eNB 102 through that eNB 102, and over the LTE air interface tothe User Equipment 104. This technique is applicable to any service thathas the characteristic that the same information may need to be sent toa plurality of users 104, but not necessarily at the same instant intime. The Streaming Movie Delivery Service 1702 is just one example of aService with this characteristic.

To provide the Streaming Movie Delivery service, a Streaming MovieDelivery (SMD) application 1702 may be deployed to run on eachOptimization Server 304 and 308. See FIG. 17. This application 1702 mayhave access to movies that are stored locally in a permanent storage,but the number of movies stored may be more limited in the OptServereNB308 elements than in the OptServerPGW 304 element. Movies that are notstored at any of the Optimization Servers 304 or 308 in the APN wirelessnetwork are obtained from a more remote store 1704 via the Internet, andsaved at the OptServerPGW 304. Distribution of movies to the eNB 102locations can be controlled by the Streaming Movie Delivery (SMD) 1702service instance that runs on the OptServerPGW 304, and may be based onthe number of users 104 who access a particular movie from a particulareNB 102 location.

Video streaming may consume not only a large over-the-air bandwidth, butgenerally may consume a large amount of bandwidth on the back haulconnection 112 between the eNB 102 and the SGW 110. Thus, a relativelysmall number of users 104 engaged in a video streaming service at oneeNB 102 may consume a large fraction of the over-the-air and back haul112 capacities of the eNB 102. While the beam forming system discussedin this disclosure enhances the air interface capacity, so a largernumber of high bandwidth users 104 may be served than in current eNB 102implementations, a corresponding increase in the back haul 112 bandwidthmay not be available. Hence, it is important to conserve back haul 112bandwidth as much as possible, especially when delivering videoservices. When the back haul 112 is highly utilized, service delivery toall users 104 may be compromised, and the quality of service for allusers 104 may deteriorate. The APN Optimization Server 308 deployment atthe eNB 102 locations, plus the bearer redirection 312 at the eNB 102elements, plus the Publish/Subscribe 1304 message delivery systemdeployed on the Optimization Servers 304 and 308, may conserve eNB 102back haul 112 utilization, and therefore may keep quality of servicehigh for all users 104. Also, the lowest delay possible is incurred insending the audio and video data streams to the UE 104, because of theshort path between the UE 102 and the point where the service isprovided. This sub-section shows how the back haul 112 utilization isminimized when one, or many users access the Streaming Movie Deliveryservice 1702.

FIG. 4 shows the interactions between the UE 104 and software that runson the OptServerPGW 304 when the user 104 invokes the Streaming MovieDelivery 1702 service on the UE 104. A dedicated bearer 302 may beestablished to support the service 1702 that is invoked by the user, andthat bearer is re-directed 312 to an OptServereNB 308 node that isassociated with the eNB 102 that serves the UE 104. The UE 104 may needto connect to a P/S Broker 1304 that runs on the OptServereNB 308 toreceive its services via the P/S Brokering middleware.

The following is an example of the way the Streaming Movie Deliveryservice 1702 may be designed. Other designs may be possible. See FIG. 17for the Service Deployment architecture. See FIG. 18 for the Servicemessage interactions discussed next.

When the user selects the Streaming Movie Delivery icon on the UE 104display, and enters the name of a movie to view, the UE 104 software mayuse the linkedBearerID, the DedBearerID, the ServerIP and ServerPortparameters obtained from the OptServerPGW 304 (see the StartServicesmessage in FIG. 4) to connect to the P/S Broker 1304 at the OptServereNB308. The UE 104 may have to locate a Service instance that can streamthe selected movie to the UE 104, so the UE 104 Publishes a ServiceDiscovery message to the Topic string“ServiceInquiry/StreamingMovieDelivery/<movie name>,” and may includethe UE 104 IMSI and the serving eNB ID in the message payload. The UE104 also sends a Subscription to the Topic“ServiceDescription/StreamingMovieDelivery/<movie name>/<IMSI>.”Including the UE IMSI in these messages may allow the response from anyStreaming Movie Delivery service instance 1702 to be routed by theBroker network only to this requesting UE 104.

All Streaming Movie Delivery server programs 1702 may Subscribe to theTopic “ServiceInquiry/StreamingMovieDelivery/*,” so all instances ofthis service may receive the UE 104 inquiry message. In the exampleshown in FIG. 18, the service instance 1702 running on the OptServereNB308 at the serving eNB 102 location may receive the Service Inquirymessage, as may the service instance 1702 running on the OptServerPGW304. The UE 104 Service Inquiry message is replicated by the P/S Broker1304 instance that is connected to the UE 104 at the OptServereNB 308.Assume that configuration of the OptServerPGW 304 P/S Broker 1304inhibits further routing of this Service Inquiry, and hence, only theStreaming Movie Delivery instances 1702 at the serving eNB 102 and atthe PGW 114 may respond, if they can provide the movie. Suppose they can(in this example, the service instance at the OptServerPGW 304 may storethe set of all movies that can be provided at any OptServereNB 308, butthe set of movies stored at a particular OptServereNB 308 may be asubset of these. The UE 104 may include the serving eNB 102 identifierin the Service Discovery message that it sends, so the Streaming MovieDelivery Service instance 1702 at the PGW 114 can determine when enoughdownloads are being requested from that location to warrant sending andstoring the movie at that eNB 102 location, if it is not already storedthere.).

Each responding Streaming Movie Delivery instance 1702 may Publish aservice response message to the Topic“ServiceDescription/StreamingMovieDelivery/<movie name>/<IMSI>.” Thismessage may be routed only to the requesting UE 104. In this case, tworesponse messages may be returned to the UE 104. The UE 104 software candetermine from a parameter included in the message (e.g., associated eNBID, or PGW), that the service instance 1702 at the OptServereNB 308 iscloser to the UE 104, and selects that one to deliver the service. TheService Description message may contain the unique ID assigned to theservice instance 1702.

Each SMD service instance 1702 Subscribes to a control message streamTopic for its service. In this case the Topic may be“ServiceControl/StreamingMovieDelivery/<unique ID>.” Hence, when the UE104 software Publishes a service request message to the topic“ServiceControl/StreamingMovieDelivery/<unique ID>,” it may be routed tothe service instance 1702 at the serving eNB 102 location. The moviename may be placed into this message payload, as well as a “StartMovie”indication, as well as any other parameters required to start theservice (e.g., charging information, the Topic used by the UE 104 toreceive the audio portion of the movie (includes the UE 104 IMSI toensure routing back to the UE 104), the Topic used by the UE 104 toreceive the video stream for the movie (includes the UE 104 IMSI toensure routing back to the UE 104), the Topic used by the UE 104 toreceive control information for the movie (includes the UE 104 IMSI toensure routing back to the UE 104)).

The audio and video streams may be Published by the service instance1702 running on the OptServereNB 308 that is associated with the servingeNB 102, and hence, no back haul 112 is used to send these streams tothe UE 104. The UE 104 software receives the streams, and renders themto the user.

This scenario is followed by any number of UEs 104 being served by aparticular eNB 102, and as long as the requested movies are available atthe OptServereNB 308 that is associated with the eNB 102, no back haul112 is used to carry any of the audio/video streams to these users 104.A large amount of back haul 112 utilization is conserved because of thisarchitecture.

Providing Streaming Movie Delivery when the Movie is not Stored at theServing eNB Location

If the requested movie is not available at the Streaming Movie Deliveryservice instance 1702 at the serving eNB 102 location, the serviceinstance 1702 may not reply to the ServiceInquiry Published by the UE104. See FIG. 19. If the movie is available at the service instance 1702at the PGW 114 location, it may respond to the UE 104 ServiceInquiry,and the movie is provided by that service instance 1702. Because theservice dedicated bearer 312 for the UE 104 is re-directed at itsserving eNB 102, the routing for the movies streams is from theStreaming Movie Delivery instance 1702 at the PGW 114 location throughits P/S Broker 1304 connection to the P/S Broker 1304 on theOptServereNB 308 associated with the serving eNB 102, and then to the UE104. See FIG. 17 and FIG. 19.

Meanwhile, because the UE 104 may include its current serving eNB 102identity in the ServiceInquiry message, the SMD service instance 1702 atthe PGW 114 may increment a count of the number of requests for thismovie at that eNB 102 location. If the count exceeds a provisionedvalue, the service instance 1702 at the PGW 114 location may downloadthe movie to the service instance 1702 at the eNB 102 location, where itmay be stored. Future requests for this movie by a UE 104 attachedthrough that eNB 102 are served by the Streaming Movie Delivery serviceinstance 1702 associated with the eNB 102. The SMD service instance 1702at the PGW 114 thus may keep a record of the SMD service instances 1702and their eNB 102 locations, and the movies each is able to provide.This information may be used in the Handover scenario by the WirelessControl Process 3902 software at the OptServerPGW 304 to help itdetermine whether, or not, the service dedicated bearer 302 should bere-directed at the target eNB. Also, usage-based algorithms may beimplemented to determine when a movie should be deleted from storage ata particular eNB 102 location.

In the case where the Streaming Movie Delivery service instance 1702 atthe PGW 114 does not have local storage of the movie named in the UE 104ServiceInquiry message, the SMD instance 1702 may interact over theInternet 122 with the Centralized Main Store 1704 for this movieservice, and may begin to retrieve the movie. As the movie packets arereceived from the Centralized Main Store 1704, they are saved to disk.Once the SMD instance 1702 on the OptServerPGW 304 determines that itcan obtain the movie from the Centralized Store 1704, it may send aServiceDescription response to the UE 104 ServiceInquiry message. Themovie is provided in this case by the SMD service instance 1702 thatruns on the OptServerPGW 304. See FIG. 19 for the messaging involved inthis scenario.

While only a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that manychanges and modifications may be made thereunto without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure as described in thefollowing claims. All patent applications and patents, both foreign anddomestic, and all other publications referenced herein are incorporatedherein in their entireties to the full extent permitted by law.

APN LTE Network to Serve as a Dual Use Network

Dual Use means that the network may be used concurrently by the generalpublic and by government agencies, with the following proviso. Wheneverit may be deemed necessary (i.e., under control of the US government,without the need to get a court order), network access may be denied toall users/entities whose priority is lower than the minimum allowedpriority set by the government administrator, or is not one of thesubset of allowed high priority access classes set by the governmentadministrator. Furthermore, network access may be denied to allusers/entities who are not members of specific government agenciesallowed to access the network. The LTE Cell Barring for Government Usefeature can be applied to any Cell, or to all Cells, or to a subset ofCells, in a 3GPP wireless network. Also, whenCell-Barring-For-Government-Use (CB-for-GU) is enabled, it may bepossible for the network to cause a Detach of all users who are notmembers of the allowed government agencies, and/or whose priority islower than the minimum allowed priority, or is not one of the subset ofallowed high priority access classes set by the governmentadministrator. It may also be possible to make exceptions for Emergencysessions that have already been established in the network, and it maybe possible to allow Emergency access to the network, at the discretionof the US Government administrator. Lastly, it may be possible for thenetwork to perform verification tests of the user identity beforeallowing a user to maintain access with the network, or with the part ofthe network that has CB-for-GU enabled. It may be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that the CB-for-GU capability described above goeswell beyond the 3GPP Cell Barring capabilities prescribed for 3GPPnetworks. In the remainder of this disclosure for this feature, thefocus is placed on how to design a Dual Use capability into a 3GPP LTEwireless network with the aforementioned characteristics. It may beunderstood that the same principles may be used in building a Dual Usecapability into other types of 3GPP wireless networks, such as 3GUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).

See the 3GPP documents TS 36.331 and TS 22.011; TS 23.203 (PolicyControl Rules Function, etc.) and TS 23.228 (IP Multimedia Services,etc.) for standardized Cell Barring specifications. See also, TS 22.153,Requirements for Multimedia Priority Service. These standardizedspecifications do not allow the operation of a Dual Use network asdescribed above. Furthermore, all the details for implementing eventhese standardized capabilities are not spelled out in these 3GPPdocuments. The standardized capabilities may be combined withadditional, new features and capabilities to implement the type of DualUse wireless network described above. The information contained in thisdisclosure describes in clear terms that may be understood by anyoneskilled in the art the manner in which a Dual Use LTE wireless networkmay be implemented. The standardized capabilities are integrated withnew, additional capabilities, to accomplish this end.

Using Network Roaming Concepts to Differentiate Government Agency Usersfrom General Users

The International Mobile Subscriber Identity, IMSI, is a uniqueidentifier assigned to every piece of User Equipment (UE 104) that canaccess a 3GPP wireless network. The IMSI is a 64-bit value composed ofup to 15 numbers. The first three digits are the Mobile Country Code(MCC). The next three digits (or two digits in European and othernon-North American networks) are the Mobile Network Code (MNC) withinthe country. The remaining 9 (or 10) digits are the Mobile SubscriptionIdentification Number (MSIN) within the network. The Home Network of a3GPP wireless network is thus identified by a specific MCC, MNC value,which identifies a specific Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). Users whosign up with the operator of a network are assigned an IMSI within thatnetwork, and are able to gain access to the Cells of that operator.Those Cells are within the Home Network of the IMSI.

Frequently, network operators enter into mutual agreements, wherebyusers in one operator network are allowed access in another operatornetwork and vice versa. Such users are said to be Roaming when theyaccess a Cell in an operator network that is different from their HomeNetwork.

Network operators generally may provision their wireless networkelements to define both the Home Network and the allowed set of RoamingNetworks. A UE 104 with an IMSI that is not in the Home Network of aCell being accessed, or is not in the list of Roaming Networksprovisioned into the Home Network elements, is not allowed to access theCell.

The Roaming concepts described above may be used to help implement partof the requirements of a Dual Use network. A UE 104 belonging to amember of a Government agency may be assigned an IMSI that is in theHome Network of the Dual Use network. Members of different governmentagencies may be distinguished by agency by using a subset of the MSINvalues for assignment to members of a particular agency. Alternatively,members of different agencies may be assigned IMSIs with different MCC,MNC values, where each of these networks is defined to be an Equivalentnetwork to the Home Network in the Dual Use network. In the HomeNetwork, members of Equivalent Networks are treated in the same way asare members of the Home Network. As for the Home Network, the list ofEquivalent Networks is provisioned into the network elements used tocontrol access to the Home Network. The concept of Equivalent Networksis defined in the 3GPP standards.

Per the previous paragraph, members of Government agencies are assignedIMSI values that are either in the Home Network of the Dual Use network,or are assigned values in the set of Equivalent Networks in the Dual Usenetwork. All other users may be assigned IMSI values in the network oftheir traditional network operator, and may access the Dual Use networkas a Roamer. General users may prefer to access the Dual Use networkbecause of lower cost of service, because of the ability to receivehigher data rates than on Cells in their Home Network, because of lowercongestion than on the Cells in their Home Network, or because of otherreasons.

Ordinarily, general users may access the Cells in the Dual Use networkas Roamers, and receive the same quality of service as is provided tomembers of Government agencies who access the Dual Use network as theirHome, or Equivalent, Network. The Element Management System (EMS 802)that manages the network elements of the Dual Use network may be used toprovision the network elements with the Home Network value, with thenetwork values of each Equivalent Network, and with the network valuesof each allowed Roaming Network.

During an Emergency, or when the Government administrator deems itnecessary, access to one Cell, to several Cells, or to all Cells, of theDual Use network may need to be restricted for use only by Governmentusers. One step to achieve this restriction may be to have the EMSprovision each Mobility Management Entity (MME 108) that handles therestricted Cell, or Cells, to remove the list of allowed Roamingnetworks. In this case, the MME 108 may reject users who access therestricted Cell, or who access any of the restricted Cells, if they aremembers of any but the Home Network, or of an Equivalent network. Inthis case, attempted accesses may be rejected with a cause of “permanentPLMN restriction.” Receiving this cause value makes the UE 104 enter thePLMN into its Forbidden PLMN list, and only a manual selection of a Cellin that PLMN can cause the UE 104 to attempt another access to it.Alternatively, if only a selected set of Cells is restricted, the rejectcause value may be “temporary PLMN restriction.” In this case, the UE104 enters the Tracking Area (TA) of the restricted Cell into its listof restricted TAs, and may not attempt to access another Cell in thisTA. It may also be the case that a subset of Roaming Networks isprovisioned to be restricted, with the remaining Roaming Networksallowed. This type of provisioning may be at the discretion of theGovernment Network Administrator.

FIG. 20 below is a modification of FIG. 1 of this disclosure, andincludes an EMS 802 that manages the network elements in the LTEnetwork. FIG. 20 shows that when a Cell is restricted, the MME(s) 108that handle the Cell may be provisioned to remove or restrict the listof Allowed Roaming Networks, and the MME 108 may detach all UEs 104 thatare not members of the Home Network, or of an Equivalent Network, or ofan allowed Roaming Network, in the Dual Use network. The MME 108 keepsthe UE 104 IMSI as part of the context information kept for each UE 104handled by the MME 108. See Section 5.3.8.3 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0 for theMME-initiated Detach procedure.

While using the Roaming concepts serves to detach non-government users104 from the restricted Cells, and denies their access to restrictedCells, these UEs 104 may still attempt to access the restricted parts ofthe Dual Use network. During disasters or other emergencies, such accessattempts may prevent or delay the access of High Priority governmentusers, of Police Department users, or of Fire Department users, or ofEmergency Responder users. Rapid access must be provided to these usersduring such emergencies. The Cell Barring concept of 3GPP may be usedand extended as described in this disclosure to achieve another aspectof implementing a Dual Use LTE wireless network.

Architecture Components that Implement Cell Barring and User IdentityValidation

Cell Barring is a standardized mechanism that may be used to limit theset of UEs 104 that are allowed to access a Cell. When Cell Barring isenabled at a particular Cell, the broadcast information from the Cellincludes the CellBarred parameter, the ac-BarringFactor parameter, theac-BarringTime parameter, the ac-BarringForEmergency parameter, and thelist of allowed/notAllowed high priority access classes contained in theac-BarringForSpecialAC parameter. The System Information Block 1 (SIB 1)CellBarred parameter indicates whether or not any access restrictionsare enabled at the Cell. The SIB 2 ac-BarringFactor parameter and theac-BarringTime parameter determine how frequently a UE 104 with AccessClass Priority between 0 and 9 may attempt access to the Cell. The SIB 2ac-BarringForEmergency parameter indicates whether E911 calls are alsobarred on the Cell. The ac-BarringForSpecialAC is a Boolean listdetailing the access rights for each high priority access class. The UE104 Access Class (AC) priority that is stored in the SIM card at the UE104 allows the UE 104 to determine what to do when it detects that aCell is Barred for access. Regular users have their UEs 104 assigned anAC value between 0 and 9 (the values are randomly assigned to regularusers). TS 22.011 specifies that AC 10 is to be used for E911 calls; AC11 is for PLMN users; AC 15 is for PLMN Staff; AC 12 is for SecurityServices; AC 13 is for Public Utilities (e.g., gas and water suppliers);and AC 14 is for Emergency Services users. The 3GPP standards indicatethat there is no priority associated with AC 11 through AC 15. No otherAccess Class values are defined in the 3GPP standards, so a Dual Usenetwork has to be able to operate using just these values configuredinto the UE 104 SIM card.

According to 3GPP standards, when CellBarred is set to “Barred,” UEs 104with Access Class priority values that exceed 10 are always allowed toaccess the barred Cell. This may, or may not be what is desired by thegovernment administrator when a Cell is barred for Government use. Afiner grain barring based on UE 104 Access Class priority may be needed(e.g., access may need to be barred for AC less than 12, or access mayneed to be allowed for some users with AC 12, but access may need to bebarred for other users with AC 12, or more Access Class values thanthose in the 3GPP standards may be required to differentiate thegovernment users). This patent disclosure provides design informationfor achieving a finer grain Cell access barring capability. Also, in aDual Use network, it may be necessary to restrict the access of evenHigh Priority users as noted above (e.g., FBI users with Access ClassPriority 12 may need to access the barred Cell, but other users withAccess Class Priority 12 may need to be restricted from accessing thebarred Cell). The design information presented in the present disclosureuses the UE 104 IMSI to further restrict access to a barred Cell by ahigh priority user. Lastly, in certain circumstances, it may be the casethat UE 104 SIM cards have been illegally set with a high priorityAccess Class by criminals or terrorists, or have programmed IMSIs thatare assigned to high priority users. It may therefore be a requirementin a Dual Use network to be able to perform a biometric test of any HighPriority user that becomes connected through a Cell that is barred forgovernment use. Biometric testing may include voice matching,fingerprint matching, or any other type of test involving unique usercharacteristics or knowledge (e.g., a password). This biometric testingneed is also accounted for in the information presented in thisdisclosure for a Dual Use network.

It may be the case that Cell barring strictly in accordance with the3GPP standards needs to be set up at one or more LTE Cells. Meanwhile,the above paragraph shows that additional access constraints need to beenabled when Cells are barred for Government use. This patent disclosuredesign description therefore defines a special Cell Barring type, calledCell Barring for Government Use (CB-for-GU), which is distinct from theCell barring capability defined in 3GPP standards documents. The designinformation contained in the present disclosure, and understandable bythose skilled in the art, shows how to add the CB-for-GU Cell Barringcapability to be used in addition to the Cell Barring specified in the3GPP standards.

The design of the system disclosed herein is just one of several designsthat may be used to implement the capabilities required in a Dual Usenetwork. It should be noted that modifications to the design informationpresented herein are possible while achieving the same result. Aspecific set of design information is presented herein to illustrate tothose skilled in the art how a Dual Use network may be implemented.

FIG. 21 shows the LTE network components that may be required toimplement the CB-for-GU capabilities described above. Note that FIG. 21includes the Optimization Server concept and the P/S Broker conceptdescribed herein. Inclusion of these components into the designinformation makes the system disclosed here efficient, perhaps moreefficient than with other types of element interfacing. The solid linesin FIG. 21 show standardized interfaces for an LTE network, and includethe mnemonic used in the 3GPP standards for each interface. The dashedlines indicate additional interfaces that may be required to provide theDual Use capability. The dashed lines connecting to the Government-runElement Management System (EMS 802) are OAM interfaces (Operations,Administration, and Maintenance interfaces) of the kind present in anyLTE network, albeit in this case, they may provision information thatmay be pertinent to the Dual Use network capabilities. The interfacebetween the LTE MME 108 and the P/S Broker 1304 running on theOptServerPGW 304 node may provide efficient interfacing between theplurality of MME 108 elements deployed in the LTE network and theApplication Function (AF) 2102 that may play a central role in providingthe Dual Use capabilities to the LTE network.

If Cell Barring is not in effect at any Cell in the LTE network, the EMS802 does not provision any additional Cell Barring information into theAF 2102, and does not provision any additional Cell Barring informationinto the MME 108 elements. If the standardized Cell Barring is in effectat any Cell in the LTE network, the EMS 802 likewise does not provisionany additional Cell Barring information into the AF 2102, and does notprovision any additional Cell Barring information into the MME 108elements. When Cell Barring for Government Use is enabled at one or moreCells in the LTE network, the EMS 802 provisions additional data relatedto the CB-for-GU into the AF 2102, into the MME 108 elements that servethe barred Cells, and into the eNB 102 elements that operate the barredCells. (The information provisioned into the eNB 102 elements is thesame as the information required for the standardized Cell Barringcapability.) The following sections may describe a processing designthat implements the Dual Use wireless network features.

In addition to the network elements and interfaces shown in FIG. 21, anew application may be added to the UE 104 to enable biometric uservalidation in the Dual Use LTE network. The additional UE 104 capabilityis illustrated in FIG. 22. The UE 104 may also connect to the P/S Broker1304 network for services other than Biometric Testing. The advantage ofusing the P/S Broker 1304 middleware is that a single connection of theUE 104 to the P/S Broker 1304 network may suffice to support any numberof UE 104 applications. Each application uses application-specificTopics via the P/S Broker interface 2204. Hence, the UE 104 app forBiometric Testing 2202 may be invoked when the UE 104 is turned ON andfirst connects to the LTE network. The Biometric Testing app 2202Subscribes to receive messages via a specific Topic, and may wait untilthe initial Biometric Testing message is received (it may never be sent,because the testing is not generally required). It may be understood bythose skilled in the art that P/S Brokering is not essential to theBiometric Testing feature, because the UEs 104 may instead individuallyconnect to a network-based program for such testing. The P/S Brokering1304 middleware makes the solution more efficient.

Automatic Detachment of Restricted Users when Sole Government Usage isEnabled

The 3GPP standards define mechanisms to allow, or gate, or deny theaccess of a user to the network. To accomplish this, the standardsdefine a Policy Charging and Rules Function (PCRF 118) and anApplication Function (AF 2102) that may be involved in interactions withthe PGW 114 when a user 104 first establishes access to the LTE network.These elements are shown in FIG. 21. To implement the capabilitiesrequired in the Dual Use network, special functionality may be added tothe AF 2102. The AF 2102 may be provisioned with a list of Cell IDvalues for the Cells for which access is Barred for Government Use. Foreach Cell with CB-for-GU enabled, the provisioning data may include theminimum value of Access Class priority that is allowed to access theCell, or a subset of allowed high priority access class values, aparameter to indicate whether E911 calls are permitted at the BarredCell, a parameter to indicate whether, or not, biometric testing isenabled for accessing the Cell, and a parameter to indicate a minimumtime interval between biometric tests for the same UE 104. In addition,the AF 2102 may be provisioned with, or have access to, a list of IMSIvalues, and for each one, its Access Class priority. Note that becausethese AC priority values are associated with IMSIs in a database that isused by the AF 2102, and is not contained in the UE 104 SIM card, the ACpriority value may not be constrained to the standardized values 11through 15, but may be assigned any value. Hence, for CB-for-GU, veryfine access class restrictions may be imposed by the use of these ACpriority values, as described in the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 21, the AF 2102 maintains an Rx Diameter interface tothe set of PCRF 118 functions deployed in the LTE network, and alsomaintains an interface to a P/S Broker 1304, so the AF 2102 mayparticipate in message exchanges with other entities that use thePublish/Subscribe Broker 1304 middleware for communications. The MME 108entities in this Dual Use network design may also interface to the P/SBroker 1304 middleware for communicating with the AF 2102, as shown inFIG. 21. The UEs 104 may also interface to the P/S Broker 1304middleware for communicating with the AF 2102, as shown in FIG. 22.

A first step that may be performed when CB-for-GU is being enabled at aparticular Cell is for the EMS 802 to send provisioning information tothe eNB 102 that provides the restricted Cell, so it can broadcast thechanged set of allowed Roaming networks. A next step may be to provisioneach MME 108 that serves the Cell, to change its provisioned informationto indicate that no Roaming is allowed at the Cell, or that only asubset of the Roaming networks remain configured for Roaming at therestricted Cell.

When the allowed Roaming networks are changed at the Cell, the UEs 104attached through that Cell may select a different Cell once theydetermine that they are accessed through a Cell that does not allowRoaming from the UE 104 Home Network. Meanwhile, the MME(s) 108 maysearch through the UE 104 contexts for each UE 104 accessed through theCell that has been provisioned for no Roaming, or for RestrictedRoaming. For each UE 104 whose IMSI MCC, MNC value does not match theHome Network, or an Equivalent Network, or an allowed Roaming network,the MME 108 may initiate a Detach procedure, and these UEs 104 areremoved from the Cell. The standardized MME-initiated Detach procedureis specified in Section 5.3.8.3 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0. See FIG. 23.

A next step may for the EMS 802 to provision the AF 2102 with theCell-Barring-for-Government-Use parameters input by the Governmentadministrator for this instance of access barring for Government Use.Per the first paragraph of this section, these parameters may includethe Cell ID, the minimum Access Class Priority allowed to access theCell, or a list of high priority access class values allowed to accessthe Cell, whether E911 calls are allowed via the Cell, whether BiometricTesting is enabled for the Cell, and the time interval between biometrictests for a UE 104. Note that the list of AC priority values may containvalues that exceed the set 11 through 15 specified in the 3GPPstandards, as described in the preceding paragraphs. Following this, theCell Barring for Government Use parameters may be provisioned into theset of MME 108 elements that serve the Barred Cell. Lastly, the eNB 102that provides the Cell may be provisioned with the Cell Barringparameters for the restricted Cell. These parameters are the onesspecified in the 3GPP standards, namely, the CellBarred parameter, theac-BarringFactor parameter, the ac-BarringTime parameter, theacBarringForEmergency parameter, and the ac-BarringForSpecialACparameter. To ensure that no low priority UEs 104 access the barredCell, the ac-BarringFactor may be set to zero.

Once the eNB 104 Cell broadcasts the Cell Barring information, no lowpriority UEs 104 may access the Barred Cell. However, the low priorityUEs 104 that are already accessed via the now-Barred Cell need to bedetached. To accomplish this, the MME(s) 108 that serve the Barred Cellmay search through their sets of UE 104 contexts for UEs 104 accessedthrough the Barred Cell. The UE 104 context contains the EstablishmentCause parameter, which was sent by the UE 104 when it accessed the LTEnetwork. If the Establishment Cause does not indicate High Priority, theMME 108 may initiate a Detach procedure for the UE 104. See FIG. 24.

If a High Priority UE 104 becomes detached via FIG. 24 because itinitiated its LTE attachment without indicating a High Priority call, itmay now re-attach to the Barred Cell, indicating a High Priority call.Low Priority UEs 104 may not access via the Barred Cell, especially ifthe ac-BarringFactor has been set to zero.

FIG. 24 shows that Low Priority UEs 104 may no longer attempt an accessof the LTE network through the Cell that has CB-for-GU enabled, and thatpreviously attached UEs 104 whose Establishment Cause is not HighPriority are Detached from the Cell. The UEs 104 that remain attachedvia the Cell that has CB-for-GU enabled are therefore High Priorityusers, but as noted above, it is not certain that their priority is highenough to allow them to remain attached via the Barred Cell, and it ispossible that a Biometric Test may need to be performed to allow them toremain attached via the Barred Cell. These aspects are not part of thestandards-based Cell Barring capabilities of an LTE network, but arepart of the capabilities of a Dual Use network when a Cell is Barred forGovernment Use. The following processing may detail the way in whichthese additional checks are made for the UEs that remain attached viathe Barred Cell.

To implement these further checks, this design of a Dual Use network mayrequire that the MME 108 elements that serve the Cell that has CB-for-GUenabled interact with the AF 2102 to check the UE 104 Access Priority,and to cause a biometric test to be performed, if necessary. Asdescribed herein, entities connected via the P/S Broker 1304 networkcommunicate messages by tagging each Published message with a Topic,which may be a string. The message is delivered to all entities thathave Subscribed to that Topic. Hence, when the AF 2102 initializes, itmay Subscribe to the Topic “AF/biometric/*”. The “*” character indicatesthat any text following the second slash sign is a match to thisSubscription Topic. Meanwhile, each MME 108 may Subscribe to the Topic“AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”, where <GUMMEI> is the Globally Unique MMEIdentity assigned to the MME 108 instance. When Publishing any message,the sending entity is able to indicate that the message should not berouted back to itself, for in this case, the sender may have Subscribedto the same Topic to which it Publishes messages.

For each UE 104 that remains attached via the Cell that has CB-for-GUenabled, the MME 104 that serves the UE 104 may now Publish aUEaccessedCheck message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”. Because ofthe wild card notation in the Topic Subscribed to by the AF 2102, thismessage is received by the AF 2102. The message may contain the Cell_IDof the Barred Cell, plus the UE 104 IMSI value. The AF 2102 may performa further validation, via its provisioned data, that the Cell_IDreferenced in the received UEaccessedCheck message is indeed a Cell thathas CB-for-GU enabled. (If it is not, the AF 2102 may Publish aUEaccessedCheckResponse message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>” toindicate that the UE 104 passes the access test, and also indicate thediscrepancy between the MME 108 and the AF 2102 provisioning data. Themessage is received only by the MME 108 that sent the originalUEaccessedCheck message, because of the inclusion of the unique GUMMEIvalue in the Topic string.) Assuming that the Cell_ID is that of a Cellwith CB-for-GU enabled, the AF 2102 may obtain from its provisioningdata the minimum value of Access Priority allowed to access the BarredCell, or the list of high priority access class values allowed to accessthe Cell. The value(s) of AC priority value may exceed the valuesallowed in the 3GPP standards. The AF 2102 may then obtain either fromits provisioned IMSI values, or from an accessible database of IMSIvalues, the priority of the UE 104 IMSI, the IMSI being that valuereceived in the UEaccessedCheck message. The AC priority value assignedto the IMSI may exceed the values of AC priority allowed in the 3GPPstandards. If the IMSI is not found in the provisioning data, or in theIMSI database, the AF 2102 may return the UEaccessedCheckResponsemessage to the MME 108 instance, indicating that the UE 104 should beDetached. The MME 108 may initiate a Detach procedure for the UE 104 inthis case, because only High Priority users acknowledged by theGovernment are allowed access to the Cell with CB-for-GU enabled.

Alternatively, if the AF 2102 locates the UE 104 IMSI either in itsprovisioned data, or in an IMSI database, it may retrieve the UE 104 ACpriority value, and compare it with the minimum AC priority valueprovisioned for the Barred Cell, or with the provisioned set of allowedhigh access class priority values. If the IMSI has too low a priority,or does not have a matching priority, the AF 2102 may return theUEaccessedCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance, to cause the UE104 to be detached. However, if the UE 104 AC priority is high enough,or matches one of the allowed High Priority access classes, the AF 2102may check its provisioned data to determine if Biometric Testing isrequired for this Cell that has CB-for-GU enabled. If not, the AF 2102may return the UEaccessedCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance,indicating that the UE 104 may remain attached via the Barred Cell. IfBiometric Testing is enabled for the Barred Cell, the followingprocessing may be followed before a final resolution is determinedregarding the UE 104 ability to remain attached via the Cell that hasCB-for-GU enabled.

The text above indicates that when the UE connects to the LTE network,the UE Biometric Testing application 2202 may be started, and the UE 104may connect automatically (i.e., without user intervention) to a P/SBroker 1304 instance on an Optimization Server 304 in the network. TheUE 104 software may Subscribe to the Topic “AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”,where <IMSI> is the unique IMSI value assigned to the UE 104. The UEBiometric Test app 2202 is a special purpose application loaded onto allUEs 104 that may need to access the Dual Use network during emergencies.Meanwhile, when the AF 2102 initializes, it Subscribes to the Topic“AF/biometric/test/*”. With these mechanics in place, and the checksthrough the previous paragraph being completed, the AF 2102 Publishesthe StartBiometricTest message to the Topic “AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”,where the <IMSI> is the value received in the UEaccessedCheck messagesent by the MME 108 that serves the UE 104. The message is thereforedelivered by the P/S Broker 1304 network to the unique UE 104 that hasthe <IMSI> value, where it is consumed by the UE Biometric Test app2202. The message may contain data such as the type of biometric testthat should be performed, or any other data pertinent to the performanceof the test. Other data may include obtaining the GPS location of the UE104, generating periodic reports of the GPS location, continuing to makethese reports even when the user attempts to put the UE 104 into theEvolved packet system Connection Management (ECM) ECM-IDLE state, oreven when the user attempts to turn OFF the UE 104. (These lattercapabilities may be required during military operations, or during othergovernment operations.) The StartBiometricTest message may be deliveredreliably by the P/S Broker 1304 network. A timer may be started by theAF 2102 for receipt of the Biometric Test data from the UE 104, in casethe user chooses not to enter the data. In this case, if the timerexpires, the AF 2102 may send the UEaccessedCheckResponse message to theMME 108 to indicate that the UE 104 should be detached.

When the biometric test is performed at the UE 104, the UE 104 BiometricTesting App 2202 Publishes the BiometricTestResults message to the Topic“AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”, and again, this message is received by theAF 2102. The AF 2102 cancels the timer previously established to receivethis message, and starts the analysis of the returned data. Depending onthe type of test being performed (e.g., matching a speech phrase,matching a fingerprint, or other biometric information, matching apassword), the AF 2102 may analyze the data itself, or it may send thedata to another service program to perform the analysis. The analysisreveals whether or not the UE 104 should remain attached via the Cellthat has CB-for-GU enabled. The determination is returned to the servingMME 108 when the AF 2102 Publishes the UEaccessedCheckResponse message.Accordingly, the UE 2102 is either detached from the Cell, or is allowedto remain attached via the Barred Cell. In the latter case, the AF 2102may set a BiometricTestPassed parameter for the IMSI, and may start atimer whose duration is set by the value of theTimeBetweenBiometricTests that is provisioned at the AF 2102 for thegiven Cell_ID.

When Biometric Testing is enabled at a Cell with CB-for-GU enabled, thetesting may be performed whenever the UE goes through an Initial Accessprocedure at the Barred Cell, a Service Request procedure into theBarred Cell, or a Handover procedure into the Barred Cell. The purposeof the timer is to avoid testing the UE 104 too frequently. When thetimer expires, the AF 2102 may reset the value of theBiometricTestPassed parameter associated with the IMSI, so anotherbiometric test may be performed for that UE 104 IMSI. (The value ofTimeBetweenBiometricTests may be set to INDEFINITE to ensure that justone test is performed per UE 104, if that is desired by the Governmentadministrator.)

The processing described in the previous paragraphs for UEs that remainattached via the Cell with CB-for-GU enabled after the initialprocessing checks at the serving MME 108 is shown in FIG. 25.

The UEs 104 that remain attached via the Cell that has CB-for-GU enabledhave had their Access Priority validated, and have possibly had the useridentity validated via a biometric test. It may also be possible thatUEs 104 not yet attached via the Barred Cell will attempt to access theCell via an Initial Attach LTE procedure, or via a Service Request LTEprocedure, or via a Handover LTE procedure. Such UEs 104 must also bechecked before being allowed to remain accessed to a Cell that hasCB-for-GU enabled. The following sections describe the processing thatmay be required to ensure that only appropriately validated UEs 104remain accessed to a Cell that is Barred for Government Use.

Initial Access to Cells with CB-for-GU Enabled

As noted above, when a Cell is Barred for Government Use, a UE 104 thathas an AC priority that is less than 10 does not generally attempt toaccess the Cell, except for E911 calling (if E911 calls are allowed atthe Barred Cell). If the ac-BarringFactor is set to 0, UEs 104 with lowAC priority may not attempt access through the Barred Cell. Hence, whenan Initial Access Request is received at the eNB 102 via a Barred Cell,it is from a High Priority UE 104. The Attach Request is sent from theeNB 102 to one of the MMEs 108 that serves the Cell. See Section 5.3.2.1of TS 23.401 v9.4.0 for the LTE Initial Attach procedure specification.If the Cell is Barred for some reason other than for Government Use, noadditional processing is required, or indicated in this disclosure.However, if the Cell is Barred for Government Use, the additionalprocessing described here may be required.

As noted previously, each MME 108 is provisioned with the CB-for-GUparameters whenever one of the Cells that it handles is Barred forGovernment Use. Hence, when an Attach Request is received from an eNB102, the MME 108 that receives the Attach Request message may check itsprovisioned data to determine if the Cell through which the access isoccurring is Barred for Government Use. If it is, a modification may beintroduced into the MME 108 processing during the Initial Attach LTEprocedure, as follows.

There are several points in the LTE Initial Attach Procedure where theMME 108 may initiate an interaction with the AF 2102 to determinewhether the UE 104 should be allowed to continue with the procedure, orwhether the MME 108 should Reject the Attach attempt. One point may bewhen the MME 108 first learns the IMSI of the UE (i.e., when it receivesthe Attach Request message from the eNB 102). Another point may be whenthe MME 108 receives the UE 108 Subscription data from the HomeSubscriber Server (HSS 120) (i.e., when the MME 108 receives the UpdateLocation Ack message from the HSS 120). The point at which the MME 108interaction with the AF 2102 ensues does not materially affect thedesign illustrated in this disclosure. (In fact, another alternative maybe for the HSS 120 to store the UE 104 AC priority with the rest of theIMSI Subscription data, and have the MME 108 make the determination ofwhether the UE 104 should proceed through the rest of the Initial Accessprocedure, rather than have the AF 2102 make the determination.) In whatfollows, the receipt of the Attach Request message by the MME 108 isused to initiate the AF 2102 interaction if the MME 108 determines thatthe Cell through which the UE 104 accesses the network is Barred forGovernment Use. See FIG. 26.

To more easily operate the Dual Use network, the default APN (the 3GPPAccess Point Name, as opposed to the All Purpose Network used herein todistinguish the type of advanced wireless network that is the subject ofthis disclosure) for all UEs 104 in the Home Network and in allEquivalent Networks may be set to the APN that includes the OptimizationServer 304 on which the AF 2102 program runs. When an Attach Request isreceived from a UE 104 that accesses the LTE network via a Cell that isBarred for Government Use, the MME 108 may be programmed to only allowan initial default bearer to be set up to this default APN (i.e., to aPGW 114 element that serves the default APN).

As the processing in FIG. 26 shows, when the MME 108 receives the AttachRequest from the eNB 104, the MME 108 may determine if the Cell beingaccessed is Barred for Government Use. This determination is made fromthe provisioning information that may be sent to it by the GovernmentEMS 802, as described previously. If the Cell is not Barred forGovernment Use, the Attach procedure proceeds per the LTE standards withno modification (Section 5.3.2.1 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0). However, ifCB-for-GU is enabled at the Cell, the MME 108 may Publish aUEaccessCheck message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”, where<GUMMEI> is the unique ID assigned to the MME 108. The message containsthe UE 104 IMSI and the Cell_ID of the Cell being accessed. As notedpreviously, this message is received by the AF 2102. The AF 2102 mayperform a further validation via its provisioned data that the Cell_IDreferenced in the received UEaccessCheck message is indeed a Cell withCB-for-GU enabled. (If it is not, the AF 2102 may Publish aUEaccessCheckResponse message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>” toindicate that the UE 104 passes the access test, that no biometric testis required, and also indicate the discrepancy between the MME 108 andthe AF 2102 provisioning data. The message is received only by the MME108 that sent the original UEaccessCheck message, because of theinclusion of the unique GUMMEI value in the Topic string.) Assuming thatthe Cell ID is that of a Cell with CB-for-GU enabled, the AF 2102 mayobtain from its provisioning data the minimum value of Access Priorityallowed to access the Barred Cell, or the set of high priority accessclass values allowed for access to the Cell. Note that these AC priorityvalues may include values that exceed the AC priority values specifiedin the 3GPP standards, to implement a finer grained priority accessfeature than may be provided with standardized Cell Barring. The AF 2102may then obtain either from its provisioned IMSI values, or from anaccessible database of IMSI values, the priority of the UE 104 IMSI, theIMSI being that value received in the UEaccessCheck message. If the IMSIis not found in the provisioning data, or in the IMSI database, the AF2102 may return the UEaccessCheckResponse message to the MME 108instance, indicating that the UE 104 access request should be Rejected.The MME 108 may initiate a Reject response to the UE 104 in this case.

Alternatively, if the AF 2102 locates the UE 104 IMSI either in itsprovisioned data, or in an IMSI database, it may retrieve the UE 104 ACpriority value, and compare it with the minimum AC priority valueprovisioned for the Barred Cell, or compare it to the list of allowedhigh priority access class values. Note that the AC priority valuestored with the UE 104 IMSI may exceed the AC priority values allowed inthe 3GPP standards, to introduce a finer grained distinction of accesspriority classes than may be provided in the 3GPP standards. If the IMSIhas too low a priority, or does not have a priority value that matchesone of the allowed values, the AF 2102 may return theUEaccessCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance, to cause the UE104 Attach Request to be Rejected. However, if the UE 104 AC priority ishigh enough, or if the UE 104 AC priority matches one of the allowedvalues, the AF 2102 may check its provisioned data to determine ifBiometric Testing is required for this Barred Cell. If not, the AF 2102may return the UEaccessCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance,indicating that the UE 104 Attach Request processing should proceed, andthat no Biometric Testing is required. If Biometric Testing is enabledfor the Barred Cell, the AF 2102 may return the UEaccessCheckResponsemessage to the MME 108 instance, indicating that the UE 104 AttachRequest processing should proceed, and that Biometric Testing isrequired.

Per FIG. 26, if the Attach Request processing continues for access via aCell that has CB-for-GU enabled, and if the AF 2102 response to theinitial MME 108 interaction indicates that a further Biometric Test isrequired, the MME 108 may wait until it determines the IP addressassigned to the UE 104. This may occur when the MME 108 receives theCreate Session Response message from the SGW 110 during the LTE InitialAttach procedure. At this point, the MME 108 may Publish a UEipInfomessage to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”, so the message is receivedby the AF 2102. The message may contain the Cell ID, the IMSI, the IPaddress assigned to the UE 104, and the IP address of the PGW 114 thatserves the UE 104. The AF 2102 may then use this information togetherwith additional provisioned data to interact with the PCRF 118 functionto request that a Filter Policy be set in the PGW 114 for this UE 104.The Filter Policy may be to restrict the packets that will be forwardeduplink by the PGW 114, or accepted for downlink transmission over the UE104 bearer. The uplink packets allowed are only for the IP address andport number of each P/S Broker 1304 instance that runs on an availableOptServerPGW 304 node (there may be more than one of these server nodesat the PGW 114 location, and there may be more than one P/S Brokerinstance on each of these servers). Allowed downlink packets can onlycome from one of these P/S Broker 1304 instances. The purpose of theFilter Policy is to isolate the communications capability of the UE 104until the Biometric Test is completed. The UE 104 purpose-built software2204 generally may attempt to connect and interface to a P/S Broker 1304when the default bearer is first established. This communication isallowed by the Filter Policy.

Meanwhile, the standardized LTE Attach Procedure proceeds for the UE104, eNB 102, MME 108, etc. When the eNB 102 sends the Attach Completemessage to the MME 108, it indicates that the UE 104 has obtained its IPaddress, and it may begin to send uplink messages. (The UE 104 shouldattempt to connect to a P/S Broker 1304, which will be allowed by theFilter Policy at the PGW 114.) When the MME 108 receives the ModifyBearer Response message from the SGW 110, it indicates that the firstdownlink data can be sent to the UE 104. Hence, it is at this point thatthe MME 108 may Publish the initiateBiometricTesting message to theTopic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”. The message contains the Cell ID and theIMSI of the concerned UE 104. The message is received by the AF 2102.The AF 2102 checks the BiometricTestingPassed variable kept for theIMSI, and if it is set, no Biometric Test is performed. Instead, the AF2102 may Publish the UEBiometricTestInfo message to the Topic“AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>, so the message is received by the serving MME108. The message indicates the UE 104 is allowed to access the Cell. Onthe other hand, if the BiometricTestPassed variable for the IMSI is notset, the Biometric Testing ensues as follows.

Similar to what is shown in FIG. 25, the AF 2102 Publishes theStartBiometricTest message to the Topic “AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”,where the <IMSI> is the value received in the initiateBiometricTestingmessage sent by the MME 108 that serves the UE 104. The message istherefore delivered by the P/S Broker 1304 network to the unique UE 104that has the <IMSI> value, where it is consumed by the UE Biometric Testapp 2202. The message may contain data such as the type of biometrictest that should be performed, or any other data pertinent to theperformance of the test. Other data may include obtaining the GPSlocation of the UE 104, generating periodic reports of the GPS location,continuing to make these reports even when the user attempts to put theUE 104 into the ECM-IDLE state, or even when the user attempts to turnOFF the UE 104. (These latter capabilities may be required duringmilitary operations, or during other government operations.) TheStartBiometricTest message may be delivered reliably by the P/S Broker1304 network. A timer may be started by the AF 2102 for receipt of theBiometric Test data from the UE Biometric Testing app 2202, in case theuser chooses not to enter the data. In this case, if the timer expires,the AF 2102 may send the UErejectAccess message to the MME 108 toindicate that the UE 104 Attach Request should be Rejected. In thiscase, the MME 108 rejects the UE 104 access, and access via the Cellwith CB-for-GU enabled is denied for the UE 104.

When the biometric test is performed at the UE 104, the UE BiometricTesting app 2202 Publishes the BiometricTestResults message to the Topic“AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”, and again, this message is received by theAF 2102. The AF 2102 cancels the timer previously established to receivethis message, and starts the analysis of the returned data. Depending onthe type of test being performed (e.g., matching a speech phrase,matching a fingerprint, or other biometric information, matching apassword), the AF 2102 may analyze the data itself, or it may send thedata to another service program to perform the analysis. The analysisreveals whether or not the UE 104 should remain attached via the Cellthat has CB-for-GU enabled. The determination is returned to the servingMME 108 when the AF 2102 Publishes the UEBiometricTestInfo message.Accordingly, the UE 104 is either Rejected for access to the Cell, or isallowed to remain accessed via the Barred Cell. In the latter case, theAF 2102 may set a BiometricTestPassed parameter for the IMSI, and maystart a timer whose duration is set by the value of theTimeBetweenBiometricTests that is provisioned at the AF 2102 for thegiven Cell_ID. The purpose of the timer is to avoid testing the UE 104too frequently. When the timer expires, the AF 2102 may reset the valueof the BiometricTestPassed parameter associated with the IMSI, soanother biometric test may be performed for that UE 104 IMSI. (The valueof TimeBetweenBiometricTests may be set to INDEFINITE to ensure thatjust one test is performed per UE 104, if that is desired by theGovernment administrator.)

If the UE 104 passes the biometric test, the AF 2102 may then interactwith the PCRF 118 via its Rx Diameter interface to cause the removal ofthe Filter Policy previously installed at the PGW 114.

Avoiding Unnecessary Paging at Cells with CB-for-GU Enabled

Section 5.3.4.3 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0 specifies the LTE Network TriggeredService Request Procedure. When the UE 104 transitions from theECM-ACTIVE state to the ECM-IDLE state, there is no connection betweenthe UE 104 and an eNB 102, and hence, no communications between the LTEnetwork elements and the UE 104. Because the UE 104 was previously inthe ECM-ACTIVE state, a context is kept in the MME 108 instance thatlast served the UE 104. If, while in this state, a downlink packetarrives for the UE 104 at the SGW 110, the SGW 110 sends a Downlink DataNotification message to the MME 108. The MME 108 tries to locate the UE104 by sending Paging messages to one or more eNB 102 elements that theMME 108 determines are most likely to cover the area in which the UE 104resides. In a Dual Use network, it may be advantageous not to sendPaging messages to an eNB 102 for transmission using a Cell that hasCB-for-GU enabled, unless it is first determined that the UE 104 isallowed to access such a Cell. FIG. 27 shows the modification to theNetwork Triggered Service Request procedure that may be used effectivelyin a Dual Use LTE network. Note that if the UE 104 AC priority (whichmay have been obtained from the HSS 120 UE Subscription data) ismaintained in the UE 104 context at the MME 108, the determination ofinitial access viability may be performed by logic in the MME 108,without the need to interact with the AF 2102 for that purpose. FIG. 27shows a procedure that may be used when the UE 104 AC priority is notkept in the HSS 120 UE Subscription data.

In FIG. 27, when the MME 108 receives a Downlink Data Notification for aUE 104, it determines the set of Cells over which Paging messages shouldbe sent to attempt to reach the UE 104. Using the data provisioned intothe MME 108 by the Government EMS, the MME 108 may determine the subsetof these Cells that have CB-for-GU enabled. Using this subset of Cells,the MME 108 may Publish the UEpagingCheck message to the Topic“AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”, where the <GUMMEI> is the unique ID assigned tothe MME 108. As described previously, this message is received at the AF2102.

For each Cell_ID in the received message, the AF 2102 may obtain fromits provisioning data the minimum value of Access Priority allowed toaccess the Barred Cell, or the list of allowed high priority accessclass values. Note that the AC priority values assigned to the Cellswith CB-for-GU enabled may exceed the set of values allowed in the 3GPPstandards. The AF 2102 may then obtain either from its provisioned IMSIvalues, or from an accessible database of IMSI values, the AC priorityof the UE 104 IMSI, the IMSI being that value received in theUEpagingCheck message. Note that the AC priority value assigned to theIMSI may exceed the values allowed in the 3GPP standards. If the IMSI isnot found in the provisioning data, or in the IMSI database, the AF 2102may return the UEpagingCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance,indicating that the paging message for the UE 104 not be sent to any ofthe Cells received in the request message. The MME 108 may initiatepaging to other Cells, but not to those with CB-for-GU enabled.

Alternatively, if the AF 2102 locates the UE 104 IMSI either in itsprovisioned data, or in an IMSI database, it may retrieve the UE 104 ACpriority value, and compare it in turn with the minimum AC priorityvalue provisioned for each Barred Cell, or compare it with the list ofallowed high priority access class values for each Cell in the checklist. If the IMSI has too low a priority for a given Cell_ID, or if theIMSI access priority does not match one of the allowed values for theCell, the AF 2102 may compose the UEpagingCheckResponse message toindicate no-paging-allowed to the given Cell_ID. However, if the UE 104AC priority is high enough for the given Cell_ID, or matches one of theallowed values for the Cell, the AF 2102 may check its provisioned datato determine if Biometric Testing is required for this Barred Cell. Ifnot, the AF 2102 may compose the UEpagingCheckResponse message toindicate that paging is allowed to this Cell_ID, and that no BiometricTesting is required. If Biometric Testing is enabled for the givenBarred Cell, the AF 2102 may compose the UEpagingCheckResponse messageto indicate that paging is allowed to the given Barred Cell_ID, and thatBiometric Testing is required. When all the Cell_ID values in therequest message have been processed in this way, the AF 2102 may Publishthe UEpagingCheckResponse message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”,so it is received by the MME 108 instance that sent the request message.

When the MME 108 receives the UEpagingCheckResponse message, it uses theresults for each Barred Cell to determine whether, or not, a pagingmessage can be sent to the eNB 102 that handles that Cell. In this way,paging messages are not sent to Cells for which UE 104 access isprohibited by CB-for-GU. For those Cells with CB-for-GU enabled to whicha paging message is sent, the MME 108 may save the status that paging isin progress to the Cell, and may save the status of whether, or not, abiometric test is required if the UE 104 accesses the network throughthat Cell. The processing modifications to the Service Request procedureto support the Dual Use network are described next.

Automatic Treatment of Restricted Users During Service Request

Section 5.4.3.1 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0 specifies the processing in the LTEnetwork for the UE Initiated Service Request procedure. As noted in theprevious section of this document, this procedure is also invoked whenthe UE 104 responds to a paging message.

As the processing in FIG. 28 shows, when the MME 108 receives theService Request from the eNB 102, the MME 108 may determine if the Cellbeing accessed is Barred for Government Use. This determination is madefrom the provisioning information that may be sent to it by theGovernment EMS 802, as described previously. If the Cell is not Barredfor Government Use, or if the Service Request is the result of a pagingmessage (see the previous section of this disclosure), the ServiceRequest procedure proceeds per the LTE standards (Section 5.4.1.3 of TS23.401 v9.4.0), with no modification. However, if the CB-for-GU isenabled for the Cell, and the Service Request is UE Initiated, the MME108 may Publish a UESrvcReqCheck message to the Topic“AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”, where <GUMMEI> is the unique ID assigned to theMME 108. The message contains the UE 104 IMSI and the Cell_ID of theCell being accessed. As noted previously, this message is received bythe AF 2102. The AF 2102 may perform a further validation via itsprovisioned data that the Cell_ID referenced in the receivedUESrvcReqCheck message is indeed a Cell with CB-for-GU enabled. (If itis not, the AF 2102 may Publish a UESrvcReqCheckResponse message to theTopic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>” to indicate that the UE 104 passes theaccess test, that no biometric test is required, and also indicate thediscrepancy between the MME 108 and the AF 2102 provisioning data. Themessage is received only by the MME 108 instance that sent the originalUESrvcReqCheck message, because of the inclusion of the unique GUMMEIvalue in the Topic string.) Assuming that the Cell_ID is that of a Cellwith CB-for-GU enabled, the AF 2102 may obtain from its provisioningdata the minimum value of Access Priority allowed to access the BarredCell, or obtain the list of high priority access class values allowed toaccess the Barred Cell. Note that the AC priority value(s) in this casemay exceed the values used in the 3GPP standards, so that a finergrained differentiation of priority users may be made in this case thanwith the 3GPP standards. The AF 2102 may then obtain either from itsprovisioned IMSI values, or from an accessible database of IMSI values,the Access Class priority of the UE 104 IMSI, the IMSI being that valuereceived in the UESrvcReqCheck message. Note that the value of ACpriority assigned to the UE 104 IMSI may be greater than the set ofvalues specified in the 3GPP standards. If the IMSI is not found in theprovisioning data, or in the IMSI database, the AF 2102 may return theUESrvcReqCheckResponse message to the serving MME 108 instance,indicating that the UE 104 Service Request should be Rejected. The MME108 may initiate a Reject response to the UE 104 in this case.

Alternatively, if the AF 2102 locates the UE 104 IMSI either in itsprovisioned data, or in an IMSI database, it may retrieve the UE 104 ACpriority value, and compare it with the minimum AC priority valueprovisioned for the Barred Cell, or compare it with the list of allowedhigh priority access classes allowed for the Cell. If the IMSI has toolow a priority, or if the IMSI AC priority does not match one of theallowed access class values, the AF 2102 may return theUESrvcReqCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance, to cause the UE104 Service Request to be Rejected. However, if the UE 104 AC priorityis high enough, or matches one of the allowed values for the Cell, theAF 2102 may check its provisioned data to determine if Biometric Testingis required for this Barred Cell. If not, the AF 2102 may return theUESrvcReqCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance, indicating thatthe UE 104 Service Request processing should proceed, and that noBiometric Testing is required. If Biometric Testing is enabled for theBarred Cell, the AF 2102 may return the UESrvcReqCheckResponse messageto the MME 108 instance, indicating that the UE 104 Service Requestprocessing should proceed, and that Biometric Testing is required.

If the Service Request is to proceed, the remainder of the procedurespecified in Section 5.4.3.1 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0 is completed. When theMME 108 receives the Modify Bearer Response message from the SGW 110,the standardized Service Request procedure is finished, but the MME 108has the following additional processing to perform in a Dual Use networkwhen the accessed Cell has CB-for-GU enabled. See FIG. 28.

When the MME 108 receives the Modify Bearer Response message from theSGW 110 to end the Service Request procedure, the MME 108 may check theinformation stored for the UE 104 IMSI. If the information indicatesthat a Biometric test should be performed, the MME 108 may Publish theinitiateBiometricTesting message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”.The message contains the Cell_ID and the IMSI of the concerned UE 104.The message is received by the AF 2102, and the Biometric Testing ensuesas follows.

Similar to what is shown in FIG. 25, The AF 2102 checks theBiometricTestPassed variable kept for the IMSI, and if it is set, noBiometric Test is performed. Instead, the AF 2102 may Publish theUEBiometricTestInfo message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>, so themessage is received by the serving MME 108. The message indicates the UE104 is allowed to access the Cell. On the other hand, if theBiometricTestPassed variable for the IMSI is not set, the BiometricTesting ensues as follows. The AF 2102 Publishes the StartBiometricTestmessage to the Topic “AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”, where the <IMSI> is thevalue received in the initiateBiometricTesting message sent by the MME108 that serves the UE 104. The message is therefore delivered by theP/S Broker 1304 network to the unique UE 104 that has the <IMSI> value,where it is consumed by the UE Biometric Test app 2202. The message maycontain data such as the type of biometric test that should beperformed, or any other data pertinent to the performance of the test.Other data may include obtaining the GPS location of the UE 104,generating periodic reports of the GPS location, continuing to makethese reports even when the user attempts to put the UE 104 into theECM-IDLE state, or even when the user attempts to turn OFF the UE 104.(These latter capabilities may be required during military operations,or during other government operations.) The message may be deliveredreliably by the P/S Broker 1304 network. A timer may be started by theAF 2102 for receipt of the Biometric Test data from the UE BiometricTesting App 2202, in case the user chooses not to enter the data. Inthis case, if the timer expires, the AF 2102 may send the UErejectAccessmessage to the MME 108 to indicate that the UE 104 should be Detachedfrom the network. In this case, the MME 108 starts the MME InitiatedDetach procedure, and the UE 104 is detached from the Cell withCB-for-GU enabled.

When the biometric test is performed at the UE 104, the UE BiometricTesting App 2202 Publishes the BiometricTestResults message to the Topic“AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”, and again, this message is received by theAF 2102. The AF 2102 cancels the timer previously established to receivethis message, and starts the analysis of the returned data. Depending onthe type of test being performed (e.g., matching a speech phrase,matching a fingerprint, or other biometric information, matching apassword), the AF 2102 may analyze the data itself, or it may send thedata to another service program to perform the analysis. The analysisreveals whether or not the UE 104 should remain attached via the BarredCell. The determination is returned to the serving MME 108 when the AF2102 Publishes the UEBiometricTestInfo message. Accordingly, the UE 104is either Detached from the Cell, or is allowed to remain accessed viathe Barred Cell. In the latter case, the AF 2102 may set aBiometricTestPassed parameter for the IMSI, and may start a timer whoseduration is set by the value of the TimeBetweenBiometricTests that isprovisioned at the AF 2102 for the given Cell ID. The purpose of thetimer is to avoid testing the UE 104 too frequently. When the timerexpires, the AF 2102 may reset the value of the BiometricTestPassedparameter associated with the IMSI, so another biometric test may beperformed for that UE 104 IMSI. (The value of TimeBetweenBiometricTestsmay be set to INDEFINITE to ensure that just one test is performed perUE 104, if that is desired by the Government administrator.)

Automatic Detachment of Restricted Users During Handover

The LTE standards specify two different types of Handover procedures. Inthe first type, called X2 Handover, there is a direct communicationspath between the source eNB 102 (i.e., the eNB 102 that manages thecurrent Cell through which the UE 104 is accessed) and the target eNB102 (i.e., the eNB 102 that manages the Cell to which the UE 104 isbeing handed over). When no direct path exists between the source eNB102 and the target eNB 102, the MME 108 becomes involved in the Handoverprocessing at an earlier stage of the Handover, and uses its S1 links toarrange for communications between the source eNB 102 and the target eNB102. This type of Handover is therefore called an S1 Handover. In an X2Handover, the MME does not change, but the SGW 110 element may change ifthe UE 104 is moving to a Cell that is not handled by the current(source) SGW 110. In an S1 Handover, there may be a change (i.e., aRelocation) to a new (target) MME 108, as well as a possible change(Relocation) to a new (target) SGW 110 element.

A high level view of the LTE Handover processing is shown in FIG. 5.There are three distinct phases to the Handover procedure, namely, theHandover preparation phase, the Handover execution phase, and theHandover completion phase. During the Handover preparation phase, the UE104 context in the source eNB 102 is transferred to the target eNB 102.In the Handover execution phase, the UE 104 leaves the Cell at thesource eNB 102, and synchronizes and accesses the Cell at the target eNB102. Uplink and downlink data can be exchanged with the UE 104 once theHandover Execution phase is completed. In the Handover completion phase,the UE 104 GTP tunnels at the SGW 110 are modified, so data is sent fromthe SGW 110 to the target eNB 102 (until this is done, the data is sentto the source eNB 102, and is forwarded to the target eNB 102 via the X2communications path, where the data is queued until it can be sent tothe UE 102 without data loss).

The X2 Handover procedure is specified in Section 5.5.1.1.2 of TS 23.401v9.4.0 for the case where there is no SGW 110 Relocation. Section5.5.1.1.3 provides the specification for the X2 Handover case wherethere is an SGW 110 Relocation. In an X2 Handover, the MME 108 servesboth the source eNB 102 and the target eNB 102, so there is no change inthe MME 108, i.e., there is no MME 108 Relocation in an X2 Handover.Section 5.5.1.2.2 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0 provides the specification of theS1 Handover case, and includes the possibilities of MME 108 Relocationas well as SGW 110 Relocation.

This portion of the disclosure may identify the changes to the MME 108processing to implement a Dual Use network capability when the UE 104 isin Handover to a Cell that has CB-for-GU enabled. It may be recognizedby those skilled in the art that the points in the standardizedprocedures chosen here to initiate MME-AF interactions is an example, asother processing points may be chosen without altering the results, andwithout materially altering the description provided here. Also, it maybe pointed out that if the UE 104 AC priority is kept with theSubscriber data stored at the HSS 120, it may be obtained by the MME 108when the UE 104 first accesses the LTE network, and the checks of the UE104 AC priority versus the priority allowed at a Cell with CB-for-GUenabled may be performed by the MME 108 without the need to interfacewith the AF 2102 for this purpose.

X2 Handover in a Dual Use Network

In an X2 Handover, the MME 108 first learns of the Handover when theHandover Completion phase starts. The target eNB 102 sends the LTE PathSwitch message to the MME 108, and identifies the UE 104 and the targetCell ID. FIG. 29 shows the introduction of additional MME 108 processingto implement a Dual Use network. When the Path Switch message isreceived, the MME 108 determines from its provisioned data if the targetCell has CB-for-GU enabled. If it does not, there is no change to the X2Handover processing. However, if the target Cell has CB-for-GU enabled,the MME 108 may check the UE 104 context data that it keeps, anddetermine if the UE 104 is making a High Priority call, or is making anEmergency Call (i.e., check the Establishment Cause value for the UE104). If the UE 104 is making a normal call, or if the UE 104 is makingan Emergency Call, but E911 calling is not allowed at the target Cell,the MME 104 may return the Path Switch Request Failure message to thetarget eNB 102, and may start the MME-initiated Detach procedure for theUE 104.

If the UE 104 is making a High Priority call, the MME 108 needs todetermine whether the UE 104 AC priority is high enough to be allowed togain access to the target Cell. Hence, the MME 104 may Publish theUEX2HandoverCheck message to the Topic “AC/biometric/<GUMMEI>, where<GUMMEI> is the unique ID assigned to this MME 108 instance. As notedherein, this message is received by the AF 2102. The message containsthe UE 104 IMSI and the Cell_ID of the Cell being accessed. The AF 2102may perform a further validation via its provisioned data that theCell_ID referenced in the received UEX2HandoverCheck message is indeed aCell with CB-for-GU enabled. (If it is not, the AF 2102 may Publish aUEX2HandoverCheckResponse message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”to indicate that the UE 104 passes the access test, that no biometrictest is required, and also indicate the discrepancy between the MME 108and the AF 2102 provisioning data. The message is received only by theMME 108 instance that sent the original UEX2HandoverCheck message,because of the inclusion of the unique GUMMEI value in the Topicstring.) Assuming that the Cell_ID is that of a Cell with CB-for-GUenabled, the AF 2102 may obtain from its provisioning data the minimumvalue of Access Priority allowed to access the Barred Cell, or the listof high priority access class values allowed to access the Cell. Notethat the value(s) received in this case may exceed the set of valuesallowed by the 3GPP standards. The AF 2102 may then obtain either fromits provisioned IMSI values, or from an accessible database of IMSIvalues, the priority of the UE 104 IMSI, the IMSI being that valuereceived in the UEX2HandoverCheck message. Note that the value of ACpriority assigned to the UE 104 IMSI in this case may exceed the set ofvalues allowed by the 3GPP standards, so that a finer graineddiscrimination of UE 104 AC priority classes may be implemented for theCB-for-GU feature than may be implemented for the standardized CellBarring feature. If the IMSI is not found in the provisioning data, orin the IMSI database, the AF 2102 may return theUEX2HandoverCheckResponse message to the serving MME 108 instance,indicating that the UE 104 Handover should be Failed. In this case, theMME 108 may send the Path Switch Request Failure message to the targeteNB 102, and may then start the MME-initiated Detach procedure for theUE 104.

Alternatively, if the AF 2102 locates the UE 104 IMSI either in itsprovisioned data, or in an IMSI database, it may retrieve the UE 104 ACpriority value, and compare it with the minimum AC priority valueprovisioned for the Barred Cell, or with the list of allowed highpriority access class values. If the IMSI has too low a priority, ordoes not match one of the allowed high priority values, the AF 2102 mayreturn the UEX2HandoverCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance, tocause the UE 104 Handover to be Failed, and the UE 104 to be Detached.However, if the UE 104 AC priority is high enough, or if it matches oneof the allowed high priority values, the AF 2102 may check itsprovisioned data to determine if Biometric Testing is required for thisBarred Cell. If not, the AF 2102 may return theUEX2HandoverCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance, indicatingthat the UE 104 Handover processing should proceed, and that noBiometric Testing is required. If Biometric Testing is enabled for theBarred Cell, the AF 2102 may return the UEX2HandoverCheckResponsemessage to the MME 108 instance, indicating that the UE 104 Handoverprocessing should proceed, and that Biometric Testing is required.

If the X2 Handover procedure is to proceed, the parts of the procedureare followed as specified in Section 5.5.1.1.2 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0 untilthe Modify Bearer Response is received by the MME 108 for the case of noSGW 110 Relocation. For the case of SGW 110 Relocation, the parts of theprocedure are followed as specified in Section 5.5.1.1.3 of TS 23.401v9.4.0 until the Create Session Response is received by the MME 108.When the MME 108 receives the Modify Bearer Response/Create SessionResponse message from the SGW 110, the MME 108 checks whether BiometricTesting is required for the UE 104, and if so, initiates an interactionwith the AF 2102 to perform the Biometric Test. See FIG. 29.

As shown in FIG. 29, the MME 108 may Publish theinitiateBiometricTesting message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”.The message contains the Cell_ID and the IMSI of the concerned UE 104.The message is received by the AF 2102, and the Biometric Testing ensuesas follows.

Similar to what is shown in FIG. 25, The AF 2102 checks theBiometricTestPassed variable kept for the IMSI, and if it is set, noBiometric Test is performed. Instead, the AF 2102 may Publish theUEBiometricTestInfo message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>, so themessage is received by the serving MME 108. The message indicates thatthe UE 104 is allowed to access the Cell. On the other hand, if theBiometricTestPassed variable for the IMSI is not set, the BiometricTesting ensues as follows. The AF 2102 may Publish theStartBiometricTest message to the Topic “AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”,where the <IMSI> is the value received in the initiateBiometricTestingmessage sent by the MME 108 that serves the UE 104. The message istherefore delivered by the P/S Broker 1304 network to the unique UE 104that has the <IMSI> value, where it is consumed by the UE Biometric Testapp 2202. The message may contain data such as the type of biometrictest that should be performed, or any other data pertinent to theperformance of the test. Other data may include obtaining the GPSlocation of the UE 104, generating periodic reports of the GPS location,continuing to make these reports even when the user attempts to put theUE 104 into the ECM-IDLE state, or even when the user attempts to turnOFF the UE 104. (These latter capabilities may be required duringmilitary operations, or during other government operations.) The messagemay be delivered reliably by the P/S Broker 1304 network. A timer may bestarted by the AF 2102 for receipt of the Biometric Test data from theUE Biometric Testing App 2202, in case the user chooses not to enter thedata. In this case, if the timer expires, the AF 2102 may send theUErejectAccess message to the MME 108 to indicate that the UE 104 shouldbe Detached from the network. In this case, the MME 108 starts theMME-Initiated Detach procedure, and the UE 104 is detached from the Cellwith CB-for-GU enabled.

When the biometric test is performed at the UE 104, the UE BiometricTesting App 2202 Publishes the BiometricTestResults message to the Topic“AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”, and again, this message is received by theAF 2102. The AF 2102 cancels the timer previously established to receivethis message, and starts the analysis of the returned data. Depending onthe type of test being performed (e.g., matching a speech phrase,matching a fingerprint, or other biometric information, matching apassword), the AF 2102 may analyze the data itself, or it may send thedata to another service program to perform the analysis. The analysisreveals whether or not the UE 104 should remain attached via the BarredCell. The determination is returned to the serving MME 108 when the AF2102 Publishes the UEBiometricTestInfo message. Accordingly, the UE 104is either Detached from the Cell, or is allowed to remain accessed viathe Barred Cell. In the latter case, the MME 108 may continue the X2Handover processing by sending the Path Switch Request Ack message tothe target eNB 102, and perform the remaining processing indicated in TS23.401 v9.4.0. Meanwhile, the AF 2102 may set a BiometricTestPassedparameter for the IMSI, and may start a timer whose duration is set bythe value of the TimeBetweenBiometricTests that is provisioned at the AF2102 for the given Cell_ID. The purpose of the timer is to avoid testingthe UE 104 too frequently. When the timer expires, the AF 2102 may resetthe value of the BiometricTestPassed parameter associated with the IMSI,so another biometric test may be performed for that UE 104 IMSI. (Thevalue of TimeBetweenBiometricTests may be set to INDEFINITE to ensurethat just one test is performed per UE 104, if that is desired by theGovernment administrator.)

S1 Handover in a Dual Use Network

The S1 Handover procedure is specified in Section 5.5.1.2.2 of TS 23.401v9.4.0, and covers the case of MME 108 Relocation and of SGW 110Relocation. The standards specifications show that the MME 108 isinvolved in all three phases of an S1 Handover procedure. It is notedhere again that there may be multiple possible points in the S1 Handoverprocessing where it may be appropriate to insert the additionalbehaviors required in a Dual Use network. Regardless of the pointsselected in the S1 Handover procedure, the results of these interactionsmust be the same, namely, that the UE 104 AC priority must be checked todetermine whether or not the UE 104 can remain attached through a targetCell that has CB-for-GU enabled, and that a Biometric Test is performedif the target Cell with CB-for-GU enabled is configured for suchtesting. FIG. 30 shows the point in the S1 Handover procedure that isselected here to show how additional processing may be used to implementa Dual Use Network.

In an S1 Handover, the MME 108 (the target MME 108, if MME Relocation isinvolved) first learns the identity of the target Cell when it receivesthe Handover Notify message from the target eNB 102. This message issent during the Handover Completion phase, so the UE 104 has alreadysynchronized on the target Cell, and uplink and downlink data may beexchanged with the UE 104. As FIG. 30 shows, the receipt of the ModifyBearer Response message from the (target) SGW 110 is used to trigger theadditional actions required in a Dual Use network. Choosing thisprocessing point ensures that the (target) MME 108 starts a timer forthe deletion of the Indirect Data Forwarding paths, in case the checksperformed for the Dual Use network result in Detaching the UE 104.

When the (target) MME 108 receives the Modify Bearer Response message,it may check its provisioned data to determine whether the target Cellhas CB-for-GU enabled. If not, the S1 Handover processing proceedswithout any modification. However, if the target Cell has CB-for-GUenabled, the MME 108 may check the UE 104 context data that it keeps,and determine if the UE 104 is making a High Priority call, or is makingan Emergency Call (i.e., check the Establishment Cause value for the UE104). If the UE 104 is making a normal call, or if the UE 104 is makingan Emergency Call, but E911 calling is not allowed at the target Cell,the MME 108 may start the MME-initiated Detach procedure for the UE 104.

If the UE 104 is making a High Priority call, the MME 108 needs todetermine whether the UE 104 AC priority is high enough, or matches oneof the allowed High Priority AC values, to be allowed to remain accessedto the target Cell. Hence, the MME 108 may Publish the UES1HandoverCheckmessage to the Topic “AC/biometric/<GUMMEI>, where <GUMMEI> is theunique ID assigned to this MME 108 instance. As noted herein, thismessage is received by the AF 2102. The message contains the UE 104 IMSIand the Cell_ID of the Cell being accessed. The AF 2102 may perform afurther validation via its provisioned data that the Cell_ID referencedin the received UES1HandoverCheck message is indeed a Cell withCB-for-GU enabled. (If it is not, the AF 2102 may Publish aUES1HandoverCheckResponse message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”to indicate that the UE 104 passes the access test, that no biometrictest is required, and also indicate the discrepancy between the MME 108and the AF 2102 provisioning data. The message is received only by theMME 108 instance that sent the original UES1HandoverCheck message,because of the inclusion of the unique GUMMEI value in the Topicstring.) Assuming that the Cell_ID is that of a Cell with CB-for-GUenabled, the AF 2102 may obtain from its provisioning data the minimumvalue of Access Priority allowed to access the Barred Cell, or the listof high access class priority values allowed for access to the Cell.Note that the AC priority value(s) may in this case exceed the valuesallowed by the 3GPP standards. The AF 2102 may then obtain either fromits provisioned IMSI values, or from an accessible database of IMSIvalues, the Access Class priority of the UE 104 IMSI, the IMSI beingthat value received in the UES1HandoverCheck message. Note that in thiscase, the value of AC priority assigned to the UE 104 IMSI may exceedthe set of AC priority values allowed in the 3GPP standards, so that afiner grained discrimination of UE 104 access priority classes may beobtained than is possible in the standardized 3GPP Cell Barring feature.If the IMSI is not found in the provisioning data, or in the IMSIdatabase, the AF 2102 may return the UES1HandoverCheckResponse messageto the serving MME 108 instance, indicating that the UE 104 Handovershould be Failed. In this case, the MME 108 may start the MME-initiatedDetach procedure for the UE 104.

Alternatively, if the AF 2102 locates the UE 104 IMSI either in itsprovisioned data, or in an IMSI database, it may retrieve the UE 104 ACpriority value, and compare it with the minimum AC priority valueprovisioned for the Barred Cell, or compare it with the list of allowedhigh access class priority values. If the IMSI has too low a priority,or does not match one of the allowed values, the AF 2102 may return theUES1HandoverCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance, to cause theUE 104 to be Detached. However, if the UE 104 AC priority is highenough, or matches one of the allowed high priority access classpriority values, the AF 2102 may check its provisioned data to determineif Biometric Testing is required for this Barred Cell. If not, the AF2102 may return the UES1HandoverCheckResponse message to the MME 108instance, indicating that the UE 104 Handover processing should proceed,and that no Biometric Testing is required. If Biometric Testing isenabled for the Barred Cell, the AF 2102 may return theUES1HandoverCheckResponse message to the MME 108 instance, indicatingthat the UE 104 Handover processing should proceed, and that BiometricTesting is required.

If the receipt of the UES1HandoverCheckResponse message indicates thatthe UE 104 is allowed access, but Biometric testing is not required, theMME 108 may continue with the S1 Handover procedure with no furthermodifications. However, if the message indicates that Biometric testingis required, the MME 108 may initiate an interaction with the AF 2102 toperform the Biometric Test. See FIG. 30.

As shown in FIG. 30, the MME 108 may Publish theinitiateBiometricTesting message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>”.The message contains the Cell_ID and the IMSI of the concerned UE 104.The message is received by the AF 2102, and the Biometric Testing ensuesas follows.

Similar to what is shown in FIG. 25, The AF 2102 checks theBiometricTestPassed variable kept for the IMSI, and if it is set, noBiometric Test is performed. Instead, the AF 2102 may Publish theUEBiometricTestInfo message to the Topic “AF/biometric/<GUMMEI>, so themessage is received by the serving MME 108 instance. The messageindicates that the UE 104 is allowed to access the Cell. On the otherhand, if the BiometricTestPassed variable for the IMSI is not set, theBiometric Testing ensues as follows. The AF 2102 may Publish theStartBiometricTest message to the Topic “AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”,where the <IMSI> is the value received in the initiateBiometricTestingmessage sent by the MME 108 that serves the UE. The message is thereforedelivered by the P/S Broker 1304 network to the unique UE 104 that hasthe <IMSI> value, where it is consumed by the UE Biometric Test app2202. The message may contain data such as the type of biometric testthat should be performed, or any other data pertinent to the performanceof the test. Other data may include obtaining the GPS location of the UE104, generating periodic reports of the GPS location, continuing to makethese reports even when the user attempts to put the UE 104 into theECM-IDLE state, or even when the user attempts to turn OFF the UE 104.(These latter capabilities may be required during military operations,or during other government operations.) The message may be deliveredreliably by the P/S Broker 1304 network. A timer may be started by theAF 2102 for receipt of the Biometric Test data from the UE BiometricTesting App 2202, in case the user chooses not to enter the data. Inthis case, if the timer expires, the AF 2102 may send the UErejectAccessmessage to the MME 108 to indicate that the UE 104 should be Detachedfrom the network. In this case, the MME 108 starts the MME InitiatedDetach procedure, and the UE 104 is detached from the Cell withCB-for-GU enabled.

When the biometric test is performed at the UE 104, the UE BiometricTesting App 2202 Publishes the BiometricTestResults message to the Topic“AF/biometric/test/<IMSI>”, and again, this message is received by theAF 2102. The AF 2102 cancels the timer previously established to receivethis message, and starts the analysis of the returned data. Depending onthe type of test being performed (e.g., matching a speech phrase,matching a fingerprint, or other biometric information, matching apassword), the AF 2102 may analyze the data itself, or it may send thedata to another service program to perform the analysis. The analysisreveals whether or not the UE 104 should remain attached via the BarredCell. The determination is returned to the serving MME 108 when the AF2102 Publishes the UEBiometricTestInfo message. Accordingly, the UE 104is either Detached from the Cell, or is allowed to remain accessed viathe Barred Cell. In the latter case, the MME 108 may continue the S1Handover processing indicated in FIG. 5.5.1.2.2-1 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0.Meanwhile, the AF 2102 may set a BiometricTestPassed parameter for theIMSI, and may start a timer whose duration is set by the value of theTimeBetweenBiometricTests that is provisioned at the AF 2102 for thegiven Cell ID. The purpose of the timer is to avoid testing the UE 104too frequently. When the timer expires, the AF 2102 may reset the valueof the BiometricTestPassed parameter associated with the IMSI, soanother biometric test may be performed for that UE 104 IMSI. (The valueof TimeBetweenBiometricTests may be set to INDEFINITE to ensure thatjust one test is performed per UE 104, if that is desired by theGovernment administrator.)

Using Access Barring and Roaming Restrictions to Secure a GovernmentBase

In some circumstances, it may be desirable to allow only a restrictedset of users to access Cells that provide coverage to agovernment-controlled area, or base. One method that may be used is toassign all the Cells that provide RF coverage of the base to a ClosedSubscriber Group (CSG). The CSG is then broadcast in one of the SystemInformation Blocks periodically sent by each Cell. Only UEs 104 thathave their SIMs configured with the specific CSG value bound to each ofthe Cells is allowed to access those Cells. This approach may have thefollowing loopholes, or issues. Invalid users may gain access to the CSGvalue of the Cells (simply by monitoring the System Informationtransmitted by the Cells), and may be able to place the CSG value intotheir SIM card. These invalid UEs 104 are then able to access the Cells.Secondly, it may be necessary to allow access to personnel not normallypresent at the base, and therefore not equipped with UEs 104 that havethe specific CSG configured. Because of these issues, it is desirable touse alternative methods to restrict the access to the Cells that cover agovernment base. The Cell Barring and Roaming restrictions described inthis disclosure may provide a good alternative to providing therestricted access.

Roaming concepts may be used as a first line of defense againstunauthorized access to the Cells that cover the government base. Each ofthe Cells may be provisioned with a set of allowed Roaming networks thatcover the government users that are authorized to access these Cells.The Roaming list may also be a null list, so only UEs from the HomeNetwork ascribed to the Cells, and from a set of Equivalent Networksascribed to the Cells, are allowed to access these Cells. In this case,it may be that all the government users have UEs 104 with IMSIs in onePLMN (MCC, MNC), where members of different government agencies may bedifferentiated by using different IMSI ranges for the members of thedifferent agencies. Alternatively, as described previously, members ofdifferent government agencies may be assigned IMSI values in differentEquivalent Networks.

The Cells that provide the RF coverage of the government base may alsobe placed into one or more Tracking Areas (TAs), where the TA(s) onlycontain Cells that cover the government base. Via provisioning data, theMMEs 108 in the LTE network that handle the neighbor Cells to the Cellsthat cover the government base may be sent Handover Restriction liststhat contain the TA(s) that contain the Cells that cover the governmentbase. This Handover Restriction list may then be delivered to all UEs104 that are ineligible for accessing the Cells that cover thegovernment base. The list may also be delivered to all UEs 104 on theneighbor Cells that are not allowed to access the Cells that cover thegovernment base for other reasons. Handover of these UEs 104 is thenprohibited, if the target Cell is one that covers the government base.

Access to the Cells that cover the government base may also be furtherrestricted by introducing Cell Barring for Government Use to theseCells. In this case, UEs 104 that are able to access these Cells must beHigh Priority UEs 104. The capabilities described previously in thisdisclosure for CB-for-GU may then be applied. Hence, verification checksof the UE 104 IMSI and of the UE 104 AC priority value versus the AccessPriority allowed at the restricted Cells may be performed by an entityseparate from the UE 104 (i.e., by the MME 108, or by an AF 2102 thatruns on an Optimization Server 304 deployed in the LTE network).Furthermore, the user identity may be verified via the Biometric Testingdescribed previously in this disclosure. These checks and the BiometricTesting are performed as described herein.

APN LTE Network to Serve as a Platform for Sensor Data Collection,Processing, Storage, and Distribution

Government and commercial applications are more and more using sensorsof all types to gather information. Sensors can include image capturingdevices, video capturing devices, audio capturing devices, scanningdevices, chemical detectors, smoke detectors, etc. Sensors may becarried on airborne drones or on manned aircraft, or may be deployed onthe ground in moving vehicles or robots, or may be deployed atstationary points such as lamp posts, in or on buildings, insupermarkets and at other shopping areas, in mobile phones that arecarried by a multiplicity of users, etc. It may be seen that the amountof data being collected by sensors in different applications is growingat a rapid rate. Sensor data needs to be collected and transmitted topoints where the data can be stored and processed. Depending on theapplication, data from a multiplicity of sensors of the same or ofdifferent types may need to be analyzed together to generate results, orto generate tertiary data, and then may need to be distributed to one,or to a multiplicity of end points for further processing or fordecision making. Wireless technology may offer beneficial ways toacquire and transport the data collected by sensors. However, the amountof data that needs to be collected in certain sensor-based applicationsmay exceed the capacities of current wireless networks. Furthermore, awireless network that has the ability to acquire, process, store, anddistribute the sensor data efficiently and quickly is not available.Such capabilities are referred to herein as characteristics of a sensorplatform.

The system described herein utilizes aspects of the APN LTE WirelessNetwork presented in prior sections of this disclosure, plus additionalconcepts, to create the sensor platform outlined in the previousparagraph. These aspects may include the higher data capacity that maybe available using the APN network beam forming technique, the abilityto co-locate Optimization Servers 308 with the eNB 102 elements, closeto the wireless access points of a large set of sensors, the ability touse the Publish/Subscribe 1304 communications in the APN LTE Wirelessnetwork to collect and distribute the sensor data among a large set ofend points in an efficient manner, and the ability to use theOptimization Servers 304 and 308 as storage and analysis processingpoints for the sensor data. A large set of sensor-based applications maybe built using these capabilities, as revealed in the example scenariobelow that illustrates the present disclosure. It may be understood bythose skilled in the art that the example shown herein is anillustration of the power and applicability of the APN LTE WirelessNetwork in providing a sensor platform, and that many other sensor-basedapplications may be built using the capabilities described herein.

Using Optimization Servers and Publish/Subscribe Messaging to HandleData from a Multiplicity of Sensors

FIG. 13 shows how a Publish/Subscribe (P/S) Broker 1304 middlewaremessaging system may be used to provide a means of interconnecting a setof diverse end points, which in this case may be a diverse set ofsensors, computer programs for processing and storing sensor data, anduser terminals and devices that may receive the results of the sensordata processing and data distribution. Per the teachings disclosed inthe earlier sections of this disclosure, the Publishing end points 1308and the Subscribing end points 1310 do not interact directly with oneanother, and are therefore decoupled. This decoupling provides a benefitin that entities (e.g., sensors, processors, user terminals) may beadded to or deleted from the network without impacting the behavior ofany Publisher 1308 or of any Subscribers 1310 to the data being sent orreceived. All communicating entities may have one connection into theP/S Broker 1304 network, and through it, are able to send to, or receivefrom, a multiplicity of other end points. Publishers 1308 may send onepacket, and any replication of the packet required to reach amultiplicity of Subscribers 1310 is taken care of by the P/S Broker 1304middleware. Hence, the system is efficient, and may operate in a simplermanner than with other communications architectures.

FIG. 14 shows an example deployment of P/S Broker 1304 instances on theset of Optimization Servers 304 and 308 that may be deployed in the APNLTE Wireless Network. Note that at least one OptServereNB 308 isassociated with each eNB 102 network element. In addition, theOptServerPGW 304 may be associated with the PGW 114 that serves theusers that gain access via the eNB 102 elements. The teachings in thisdisclosure also describe how a UE bearer 302 may be redirected at theeNB 102, so it connects to the OptServereNB 308 that is associated withthe eNB 102. This procedure may give the UE 104 a short path to reachthe services that may be provided by the OptServereNB 308, andespecially, to allow the UE 104 to connect to a P/S Broker 1304 instancethat may run on that server 308. Furthermore, the use of the redirectedbearer 312 may result in reducing, or eliminating, the use of back haul112 resources when sending data to the UE 104, or when receiving datafrom the UE 104. It may also result in the lowest delay possible insending or receiving data from a server program to/from a UE 104, whenthe server runs on the OptServereNB 308 that is associated with the eNB102 that serves the UE 104. In this instance, the UE 104 may be asensor, or it may be a user terminal that displays the sensor data orcontrols the sensors that may connect via this type of LTE WirelessNetwork. The number of sensors that may connect to the network may belarge, especially when the Beam Forming system referenced in thisdisclosure is used at the eNB 102 elements to increase the systemcapacity. Many sensors may be able to connect to the LTE network at eacheNB 102 element.

Over the past dozen years, several universities around the world haveparticipated in specifying and building service architectures that canaccommodate collaborative audio and video conference meetings. Thesetypes of services may be precisely what are needed to support sensorsdeployed to serve troops in the field, or to support Emergency workersat a disaster scene, or to support many types of commercial servicesinvolving sensors. Collaborative audio communications may be needed bythe people involved in an emergency or military operation. Video streamsare likely to be generated by sensors, and may need to be distributed tosets of people who need the information to improve their decision makingability, and to inform them before making a next move. Likewise, largecollections of images taken by sensors may need to be stored, so theycan be sent later to users who need to make decisions based on the imagecontents. The ability to interconnect the sensors and the users in aconference arrangement using the P/S Broker 1304 middleware of the APNLTE Wireless Network may facilitate the storage, processing, anddistribution communications needs of applications involving sensors.These services may extend naturally into the commercial domain as well,although person-to-person, or sensor-to-person communications may beused more frequently than conference services. However, conferenceservices may have their place in the commercial domain, and the P/SBroker 1304 communications may facilitate the operation of theconferencing service. Meanwhile, person-to-person and sensor-to-personcommunications may likewise be handled efficiently by using the P/SBroker 1304 middleware, as illustrated in the present disclosure.

FIG. 31 shows the minimum set of functions that may be required to setup and manage multimedia conference services using the P/S Broker 1304middleware for communications. FIG. 31 shows how these functions may bedistributed across the set of Optimization Servers 304 and 308 that maybe deployed in the APN LTE Wireless Network. The Conference Repository3110 may contain a list of scheduled conferences, together with the setof user 104 IMSI values that are allowed access to the conference, therole of each user 104 in the conference (e.g., sensor of a particulartype, general participant, chairperson, speaker, listener), and theconference start and end times. The Conference Manager 3102 may startand terminate the conference, interact with the Session Manager 3104 toadd or delete specific types of sessions (e.g., audio, video, alarms),and manage the orderly use of the Conference resources by theparticipants. The Session Manager 3104 may interact with the MediaServer 3108 to start and delete media types from the Conference. TheMedia Server 3108 may provide services specific to different types ofmedia. The Session Manager 3104 is the interface point for sensors,devices, and users 104 who wish to join a particular session associatedwith the Conference that the end point (sensor, device, or user 104) hasjoined.

The generic ideas presented in FIG. 31 are that the Optimization Servers304 and 308 and the associated P/S Broker 1304 communications middlewaremay be used as a platform to receive, process, store, and redistributethe sensor data in an LTE Wireless network. A conference capability maybe required to facilitate the implementation of the distribution andcollection functions, depending on the application, and may serve toorganize the sensor, processing, and end user resources into oneapplication. Other functions required by the specific sensor applicationmay be deployed on the set of Optimization Servers 304 and 308, and maybe connected to the P/S Broker 1304 system. There is no restriction onthe type of functionality that may be added. The following subsectionsof this disclosure describe a set of additional functions, such as anImage Server 3302 and an Alarm Server 3304, that receive, process,store, and redistribute sensor data as part of a specific application.The inclusion of these functions may serve to illustrate how the APN LTEWireless Network may serve as platform for building sensor applications.

Deployment of these sensor services may be on the Optimization Server304 associated with the PGW 114, or may be on the Optimization Server308 associated with the eNB 102. The choice may depend on the locationof the sensors and of the human and machine participants in the sensorapplication. As the following subsections show, choosing the appropriateserver 304 and/or 308 to execute the function may result in largesavings in bandwidth utilization on the network communications links 112and 704 and/or in greatly reduced delay in getting information from orto an end point.

An Emergency Application Example Involving Sensors

This example application of sensors may serve to illustrate how thecapabilities built into the APN LTE Wireless Network may be used as aplatform to build sensor-based applications. A set of diverse sensorcapabilities are used in this example to emphasize and illustrate howthe sensor platform may be used.

When disasters occur, it frequently happens that the wirelessinfrastructure required to support the communications needs of Emergencyresponders is destroyed along with other infrastructure. The enhanceddata capacity of the APN Beam Forming technology and the use of theOptimization Server 304 and 308 technology in an APN network may be usedto restore LTE wireless capabilities over the area in which theEmergency responders must operate. In addition, deployment of thePublish/Subscribe Broker 1304 message delivery middleware and anassociated set of conferencing software may be used to support thesensor data collection, analysis, and distribution that is vital to thesafety of the responders and to the success of the Emergency operation.The details provided in this disclosure may illustrate how these aspectsare addressed. Multimedia conference capabilities are also important tothe response team and to the staff situated remote from the area ofoperation in a Command Post. The ability to co-locate serviceapplications with the eNB 102 elements offers back haul 112 utilizationsavings and minimizes delays in providing information to the responseteam. The following example scenario may illustrate how the APN networkmay be used to support these important requirements of an EmergencyAction application.

The example scenario that illustrates the use of the APN LTE WirelessNetwork as a sensor platform is one in which wireless infrastructure hasbeen destroyed in the disaster area. Hence, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) 708 is used to deploy an eNB 102 element and an OptServereNB 308element above the disaster area. The UAV-based APN network deploymentshown in FIG. 32 may be used in this example scenario. A single eNB 102carried in a UAV 708 is assumed to be sufficient to cover the emergencyarea of operation. While FIG. 32 shows the use of a second UAV 710 tocarry the Enhanced Packet Core (EPC) components (MME 108, SGW 110, andPGW 114), it is understood by those skilled in the art thatcommunications from the eNB 102 to a ground-based EPC is anotherpossible deployment option.

Table 7 shows the main players and functions involved in thecommunications and processing aspects of the Emergency Action operationexample scenario, and indicates where each function is deployed in thearchitecture. A functional architecture for this scenario is shown inFIG. 33. A deployment architecture for this scenario is shown in FIG. 34(it should be understood by those skilled in the art that not all theservice functions of Table 7 are shown in FIG. 34 because of the lack ofspace).

TABLE 7 Actors, Deployment, and Descriptions for an Example EmergencyAction Scenario Involving Sensors Function Description Where DeployedNotes Emergency responder Humans engaged in first Deployed across theAll are in an audio team members and their responder activities in areaof operation. conference call, so their UE devices 3310 the emergencyarea of actions can be operation. coordinated and modified based onconditions in the field. Conference Chairperson The entity recognized byGenerally, one of the Decides whether to give UE device 3310 or 3308 theConference software emergency responders the “floor” of the as beingable to make 3310, or someone at the conference to someone decisionsabout the command post 3308. else; decides whether conference. someonenot on the initial attendance list can join the conference. Command PostPersonnel who can Deployed at a fixed Is in audio conference personneland their UE coordinate the actions of location distant from the withall human devices (computers, human responders 3310 area of operation.responders 3310 and mobile phones) 3308 and sensors 3312 and commandpost 3314. personnel 3308, and has control of the robotic sensors 3314deployed into the emergency operational area. Conference Manager Asoftware service Deployed on the Starts the conference, 3102 functionthat manages OptServer_(PGW) 304 node. terminates the the Conference.conference, interacts with the Session Manager 3104 to start andterminate media sessions. Keeps a database of conference attendees andsession templates. Keeps the set of roles participants play in theconference, including the identity of the Conference Chairperson.Session Manager 3104 A software service Deployed on the Based,generally, on function that manages OptServer_(PGW) 304 node. controlcommands from the media sessions that the Conference Manager are part ofthe software; creates the conference (e.g., audio sessions for a session3324, video Conference, and session 3328, Alarm manages the data session3330, robot streams that are used by control session 3332). participantsto use in Admits participants to each of the sessions. the sessions theyselect, and sends information that enables communications within thesession. Media Processing Audio mixer 3318 to Deployed on the When aparticipant Server 3108 handle multiple audio OptServer_(eNB) 308 audiostream is added to streams that arrive associated with the eNB theconference, the simultaneously. Publish 102 element that servesparticipant's stream is mixed audio stream to the Emergency Action addedto the audio each participant. Video operational area. stream-mixingfunction mixer 3320 to handle 3318, and a stream multiple concurrentcontaining the audio of video streams in the all participants 3308 andvideo session. Image 3310 except that one is Grabber 3322 to “grab” aPublished to a unique single image from each topic Subscribed-to byvideo stream, so a the added participant representation of that 3308 or3310. user or sensor video can be displayed on each participant 3308 or3310 device. Other functions may include vocoder translations. FixedSensors (a special In this scenario, the fixed Deposited throughout Thefixed sensors 3312 purpose UE as far as the sensors are carried to a theEmergency area of are not involved in the LTE network is spot by arobot, and operation, based on conference. Instead, concerned) 3312dropped into place at the directions from the they send their data tocommand of a human Command Post 3308 or the Fixed Sensor Data operator3308 or 3310. from first responders Analysis Server 3304. These sensorsdetect 3310 to the mobile such things as fire, robots that carry them.smoke, specific chemicals, movements, sounds. No video. Mobile Sensors(robot- In this scenario, these These robot-mounted When a robot-mountedmounted; a special sensors are mounted on sensors are distributed sensoris set up near the purpose UE as far as the moving robots, whosethroughout the operational area, LTE network is motions in the emergencyarea of someone at the concerned) 3314 emergency area of operation.command post 3308, or operation are controlled a first responder 3310,by the Command Post positions the robot to a personnel 3308, or by apoint where the fixed First Responder 3310. sensor(s) 3312 that it Thevideo streams they carries can be deposited. generate are part of theFurther control Conference. Their commands direct the control datastream is robot to other points in also used to control the theoperational area, movement of the robot where video of the area thatcarries the sensor. is distributed to the conference participants. FixedSensor Data This function receives Deployed on the Each conferenceAnalysis Server 3304 the data from each of the OptServer_(PGW) 304.participant 3308 or 3310 fixed sensors 3312 can obtain details aboutdeployed in the the Alarm, including emergency area of type of Alarm(e.g., operation. If an alarm movement or sound condition is determinedfrom a disaster victim is to exist, an Alarm is detected), location ofPublished to all the sensor, etc. The conference participants commandpost 3308 (or 3308 and 3310 who are any participant 3310 set up toreceive the gaining control of the Alarm. conference) can direct arobot-mounted sensor 3314 to the location of the Alarm to send videoinformation. Image Server 3302 Stores images sent from Deployed on theDuring the Emergency cameras integrated into OptServer_(eNB) 308operations, many the Response Team associated with the eNB detailedphotos may be members' UEs 3310. 102 element that serves taken ofdifferent areas Delivers images to the Emergency Action to get closer,different, participants 3308 and operational area. better looks at thescene. 3310 for display. Images can be used for historical comparison,or for near real-time information gathering and analysis. P/S Broker1304 Provides the attachment Deployed on the Decouples senders of pointfor each entity OptServer_(PGW) 304 and data from receivers of (sensor3312 and 3314, on the OptServer_(eNB) the data. Allows an UE 3308 and3310) 308. arbitrary number of involved in accessing the Publishers andAPN LTE network and Subscribers to be obtaining the services involved ina Service, offered on the APN and allows entities to be OptimizationServers added to, or deleted 304 and 308. Allows from, the serviceconnected entities to dynamically. Publish and Subscribe to “Topics.”Routes a message Published to a Topic to all entities that haveSubscribed to that Topic.

Because of the deployment of the Media Server 3108 on the OptServereNB304 that is located over the Emergency Action operational area, allaudio and video data streams may be mixed and delivered to each firstresponder 3310 team member with little use of the back haul 112interface. The audio data stream from each first responder 3310 may berouted via its re-directed dedicated LTE bearer 312 to the OptServereNB308 associated with eNB_2 102, which covers the area of operation. Theaudio streams are mixed in the Media Server 3108, so concurrent packetsfrom different user audio streams may appear in the single audio datastream that each participant 3308 and 3310 receives from the MediaServer 3108 (the packets sent by a specific user 3308 or 3310 are notmixed in the audio stream returned to that user). The back haul 112 isnot used in these interactions because of the re-directed bearer 312used to carry the data to/from the UE 3310 and the OptServereNB 308,where the Media Server 3108 executes (see FIG. 3 for the meaning of aredirected bearer 312).

If a UE 3308 located at the Command Post joins the Audio session 3324 ofthe conference, the audio packets from that UE 3308 may be routed viathe P/S Broker 1304 associated with eNB1_102 via the wireless back haul112 to the P/S Broker 1304 associated with the PGW 114 to the P/S Broker1304 associated at eNB_2 102, and then to the Media Server 3108. Themixed audio stream generated at the Media Server 3108 for that UE 3308may be routed via the reverse path. Hence, lower packet delays may beachieved for the first responder team members 3310, and lower back haul112 utilization may be achieved overall than with a traditionalarchitecture.

The Image Server 3302 may be deployed on the OptServereNB 308 that isassociated with eNB_2 102. Hence, no back haul 112 may be utilized tostore images collected by the first responder 3310 team members. Becauseeach image is a large file, the back haul 112 savings are significantwith this architecture. When images are uploaded, the application on theUE 3310 for image handling may tag the image with a date, time, GPScoordinates, and user comments. By interacting with the Image Server3302, any UE 3308 or 3310 in the operation may obtain a list of images,filtered by criteria set by the user. Any user may thus view any of thelarge set of detailed images that may be recorded during the teamoperation. In this case, because of the APN Optimization Server 304 and308 architecture, the image download to the UE 3310 or 3308 comes fromthe OptServereNB 308 with little delay, and no back haul 112 may be usedto transmit the images to the first responder team members 3310. SeeFIG. 34.

With the UAVs 708 and 710 deployed over the operational area, the firstresponder team 3310 may approach the disaster area, load the mobilerobots 3314 with their fixed sensor 3312 payloads, and turn on themobile robots 3314. The responder team members 3310, the Command Postpersonnel 3308, and the robots 3314 with their video sensors may alljoin the multimedia conference. In this scenario, the robots 3314 mayonly send a video stream. They do not receive video, but they do have acontrol channel 3332 to receive commands for movement and for control ofthe fixed sensors 3312 that they carry. The mobile robot sensor videostreams 3314 may appear on the displays of the command Post 3308personnel, who use the communications control channels 3332 to directthe robots further into the disaster area. Based on the video streamfrom a particular robot-mounted sensor 3314, its fixed sensor 3312payload may be deposited on the ground, and turned on. Thesoftware/firmware in these fixed sensors 3312 may connect to the LTEnetwork, and then to the P/S Broker 1304 network, locate the FixedSensor Data Analysis service 3304, and announce themselves and theircapabilities (e.g., fire detection, sound detection, chemical detection,motion detection) and their GPS location coordinates. The data sent fromeach fixed sensor 3312 may be collected and analyzed by the Fixed SensorData Analysis service program 3304 that runs (in this example) on theOptServerPGW 304, and an Alarm may be generated based on the datareceived from the fixed sensor 3312. All participant UEs 3310 and 3308Subscribe to receive the Alarm data stream 3330.

Meanwhile, all participants 3308 and 3310 may be able to communicate viathe voice conferencing setup, and may be able to select the video feedfrom any of the robot-mounted sensors 3314, or from videos played by anyfirst responder 3310. Based on the needs of the first responders 3310,robots 3314 may be commanded to move in particular directions. Thecommands may come either from the Command Post personnel 3308, or from afirst responder team member 3310. As an example, a robot 3314 near thearea of a fixed sensor 3312 can be sent to “investigate” an Alarm thatis generated by the data from that fixed sensor 3312. Also, videostreams that may be generated by the UEs 3310 of the first respondersare made available to all the conference participants 3308 and 3310 viathe Conference video session capabilities. The conference participants3308 and 3310 may have the ability to select a video data stream fordisplay from a list of all the entities in the conference that generatevideo data, via the still images available from the Image Grabber 3322.Likewise, the images captured by the response team mobile devices 3310may be selected for display on any participant's UE 3308 or 3310.

The following sub-sections of this disclosure provide details,understandable to those skilled in the art, for how the MultimediaConference may be set up to allow audio and video communications amongall the conference participants, how the video streams from the mobilerobot-mounted sensors 3314 may be made available to all the conferenceparticipants 3308 and 3310, how the Alarm notification messages may bemade available to the conference participants 3308 and 3310, and howcontrol channels may be set up to allow users at the Command Post 3308to control the motions of the mobile robots 3314, and to control thelocations at which the fixed sensors 3312 are deposited by the mobilerobots 3314. The interactions among participant UE 3308 and 3310 devicesand the Image Server 3302 is outside the scope of the multimediaconference, as are the interactions between the fixed sensors 3312 andthe Fixed Sensor Data Analysis server 3304. The Image Server 3302interactions and the Fixed Sensor Data Analysis Server 3304 interactionswith the fixed sensors 3312 are also described in the succeedingsubsections in this disclosure.

Setting Up the Multimedia Conference

The Conference Manager 3102 application may have associated with it aRegistry 3110 of Conferences. The data for each Conference stored in theRegistry 3110 may have the following information: Conference Name,Conference ID (defined by the Conference Manager 3102 when theConference is activated), Start time, end Time, attendee list,chairperson ID, list of Roles and Capabilities, and a Template for eachSession that can be selected for this Conference. A field in eachSession Template may indicate whether the Session should be activated bythe Conference Manager 3102 when the Conference is started. Attendeesmay not join a session until the session is activated, and sessions maybe activated dynamically by any participant 3308, 3310, or 3314 once theConference starts. In this scenario, all the sessions are started by theConference Manager 3102, based on the information in the Registry 3110for the “Emergency Action” Conference. The Conference Manager 3102 mayalso create a set of Topics for use in the Publish/Subscribecommunications schema for all the activities required in the Conference.Additional Topics may be created and distributed by the ConferenceManager 3102 as each participant 3308, 3310, or 3314 joins a session, sothe participant may be able to receive a unique and appropriate view ofthe conference data.

The Registry 3110 information may be created by any authorized UE 104 toset up a future Conference, but can also be set up by an ElementManagement System 802. In this scenario, assume that the Registry 3110entry for the “Emergency Action” conference has already been set up whenthe Emergency Operation needs to begin.

UEs 3308, 3310, and 3314 may join and leave the Conference at any time.UEs 3308, 3310, and 3314 may join or leave any, all, or a subset of theSessions 3324, 3328, 3330, and 3332 that are activated for theConference, and for which they are allowed to join. Hence, in thisEmergency Action scenario, the number of participants 3308, 3310, and3314 may change dynamically. For instance, one or more robots 3314 maybe disabled, and new ones may replace them, or additional ones may beadded to the operation as needed.

Table 8 may show some of the information the Registry 3110 may containfor the “Emergency Action” Conference before and after the Conference isActivated (some entries may be made after the Conference Starts, such asConferenceID and the list of Activated Sessions and their Topics). Theentries may be made by the Conference Manager 3102 once the Conferenceis started, but may be made by any entity (e.g., EMS 802 or a user)before the Conference is started.

TABLE 8 Emergency Action Conference Parameters Conference ParameterValue(s) When Entry Is Made Conference Emergency Action Prior toConference Start Name ConferenceID <a number, or a text string> When theConference is Started Start Time <time>, but IMMEDIATE in this scenarioPrior to Conference Start End Time <time>, but in this caseUNTIL-TERMINATED Prior to Conference Start Attendee List May be names ofusers, or IMSIs of user UEs, or names such as Prior to Conference “AlarmGenerator,” or generic IDs such as “any first responder,” Start,although additional “any robot,” or “any Commander” entries may be madevia the EMS 802, or by approval of the Chairperson Chairperson ID <aunique ID in the Conference>: may be an IMSI or a participant Prior toConference name Start, but the Chairperson may be changed dynamicallyvia RequestChair/GiveChair interactions between participants and theConference Manager 3102 Roles and “FirstResponder,” (all sessions);“CommandPost,” (all sessions); Prior to Conference Start Capabilities“AlarmGenerator,” (send alarms and alarm information, receive alarmqueries); ”MobileRobot,” (send video, receive commands); “FixedSensor,”(send data); Conference ServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>(the Conf When the Conference is Topics Mgr Subscribes to this Topic);Started append/<IMSI> to direct Conf Mgr responses to a particular UESession Topics: See next items When Session is Activated; in thisscenario, when the Conference is Started Audio SessionServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/audio When the audiosession control 3324 is activated; in this case, when the Conferencestarts. Video SessionServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/video When the videosession control 3328 is activated; in this case, when the Conferencestarts. Alarm SessionServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/alarm When the Alarmsession 3330 is activated; in this case, when the Conference starts.Robot ControlServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/robotControl When theRobot Control Session session 3332 is activated; in this case, when theConference starts. Session ControlServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/sessionUpdate When thefirst session is activated; in this case, when the Conference starts.Sessions may be activated or terminated by participants Publishingmessages to this Topic. The Conference Manager 3102 and the SessionManager 3104 may use a separate pair of Topics to communicate initially,before the Session Manager 3104 can learn the <confID> assigned by theConference Manager 3102. SessionServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/<sessionName-Notify>This generic Topic may Notification be used by the Conference Manager tonotify all UEs that participate in a particular session of changes inthe session participant list. All UEs in a particular session Subscribeto this Topic to receive these updates.

See FIG. 35, FIG. 36, FIG. 37, and FIG. 38 for the following descriptionof how the Conference may be started and operated. The use of the P/SBroker 1304 networking is omitted in these figures for the sake ofsimplifying the figures, but it should be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the messaging interactions occur through the actions of theP/S Broker 1304 middleware system.

FIG. 35 shows how the Conference may be started. Because the Registry3110 contains an entry for the Emergency Action Conference indicatingthat it start IMMEDIATELY, once the Registry 3110 entry is made, theConference Manager 3102 may be notified. The Conference Manager 3102 maystart the Conference, assign a ConfID to the Conference, and Subscribeto the Topic: ServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID> The<confiD> may embed the uniqueID assigned to this Conference Manager3102, as opposed to any other instance, so messages pertaining to itsconferences are routed by the P/S Broker 1304 network only to thisConference Manager 3102 instance.

The Conference Manager 3102 may determine from the Registry 3110information the Sessions that need to be started, and may Publish aService Inquiry to the topic ServiceInquiry/ConfSession/<ConfMgrID> tolocate a Session Manager 3104 instance, where <ConfMgrID> may be aunique ID assigned to this Conference Manager 3102 instance. All SessionManager 3104 instances may Subscribe to the TopicServiceInquiry/ConfSession/* to receive these Inquiries. In this case,there is just one Session Manager 3104 instance, so the ConferenceManager 3102 may receive one Service Description reply that carries aSessMgrID that is unique among all the Session Manager 3104 instances.The Session Manager 3104 may Subscribe to its unique control channelthat is outside the scope of any particular Conference(ServiceControl/ConfSession/<SessMgrID>). With each communicating entityin possession of the unique ID assigned to the other, the ConferenceManager 3102 and the Session Manager 3104 may now exchange messages viathe P/S Broker 1304 network.

The Conference Manager 3102 may Publish a message to the Session Manager3104 to indicate the start of the Emergency Action Conference, and mayprovide a list of sessions that need to be started. The Topics for eachSession may also be included in the information passed to the SessionManager 3104. In this case, an audio session 3324, a video session 3328,an Alarm session 3330, and a Robot Control session 3332 may beactivated. Because an audio conferencing session 3324 is activated, andbecause a video conferencing session 3328 is activated, the SessionManager 3104 must locate a Media Server 3108 to reserve and start theaudio mixer 3318, video mixer 3320, and Image Grabber 3322 capabilitiesfor the Conference participants, so they are available when eachparticipant joins the corresponding session.

The location of the Media Server 3108 may involve a Service Inquirybeing Published by the Session Manager 3104 to the generic topicSubscribed-to by all Media Server 3108 instances (in this example, thereis just one instance), and a Service Description response being returnedto a Topic made unique by adding the uniqueID of the Session Manager3104 instance. The reply contains the uniqueID assigned to the MediaServer 3108 instance, and from that point onwards, the two instances maycommunicate via the P/S Broker 1304 network to set up the mediaprocessing for the audio and video sessions. The availability of audiomixer 3318, video mixer 3320, and image grabber 3322 resources may beincluded in the Service Description response generated by the MediaServer 3108, so the Session Manager 3104 is able to select from amongseveral Media Servers 3108 when there is more than one instanceavailable in the network. Hence, the Topic Subscribed-to by the SessionManager 3104 for the audio session in this Conference may beServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/audio/<SessMgrID>. TheTopic Subscribed-to by the Media Server 3108 for the audio session inthis Conference may beServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/audio/<MediaServerID>.The audio mixing resources 3318, video mixing resources 3320, and theimage grabbing resources 3320 may be reserved at the Media Server 3108instance for the Emergency Action Conference. The Emergency ActionConference is now in the Activated state. The Conference Manager 3102may return an Acknowledgement to the Registry 3110 to indicate the startof the Conference, and may provide the Registry 3110 with the ConfIDthat has been assigned to the Conference. This value must be passed toeach participant to allow the participant to Join the Conference.

FIG. 35 shows the interactions discussed above for starting theEmergency Action Conference. As noted, the use of the P/S Brokers 1304to route these messages is not shown in FIG. 35 as a simplification. Theinclusion of the P/S Broker 1304 routing is therefore to be understoodby the reader as underpinning each of the interactions shown in FIG. 35.It should be remembered that the only point-to-point connections arethose between an entity (e.g., Session Manager 3104, Media Server 3108,sensor 3314) and a P/S Broker 1304. There are no explicit connectionsbetween the communicating service entities, sensors, or participant UEs.Also, every message sent is actually Published to a Topic, and everymessage received implies a Subscription to the Published Topic. TheTopics that may be used in this scenario may be found in Table 8.

Participants Join the Conference and Join Sessions

See FIG. 36 for this description of how entities may join the Conferenceand the Sessions allowed to them. Each conference participant UE 3308,3310, and each sensor 3314, needs to communicate with the ConferenceManager 3102 to join the Conference. For this and other Conferencecontrol purposes, the Conference Manager may Subscribe to the Topic:ServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>. Hence, the participantdevice must obtain both the Conference Name and the <confiD> before itis able to Publish a request to join the Conference. While theConference Name may be provisioned into the participant device, the<confID> may not, because it is assigned by the Conference Manager 3102when the Conference is started. This behavior adds a degree of securityto the Conference Join procedure.

When the user 3308, 3310, or 3314 selects to Join a Conference, the UE3308, 3310, or 3314 may Publish a Service Inquiry to the TopicServiceInquiry/ConfSvc/Registry/<IMSI>, where <IMSI> is the unique valueassigned to the UE. Because all Registry 3110 instances may haveSubscribed to the Topic ServiceInquiry/ConfSvc/Registry/*, the UE 3308,3310, or 3314 message may be routed by the P/S Broker 1304 network toall Registry 3110 instances. The Service Description response messagePublished by a Registry 3110 instance may include the unique UE 3308,3310, or 3314 IMSI in the Topic, to allow routing the response to thisparticular UE 3308, 3310, or 3314. The ServiceInquiry message maycontain the Conference Name (Emergency Action), so the Registry 3110 mayrespond if it has information for that Conference. In this example,there is only one Registry 3110, so just one Service Descriptionresponse message may be returned to the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314. Itcontains the unique ID of the Conference Manager 3102, and theinformation about the Emergency Action Conference, including the<confiD>. (In this case, the Conference Name may be provisioned into thesensors 3314 and other UEs 3308 and 3310 that need to join theconference.)

The UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 may now Publish a Join message to theConference Manager 3102 for the Emergency Action Conference. The list ofAttendees available to the Conference Manager 3102 may allow it to admitthe UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 to the Conference. The Join may haveinformation related to the Role of the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314, andhence, the Conference Manager 3102 may determine the set of sessions theUE 3308, 3310, or 3314 may be able to join, and may send the Sessionlist to the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 in an Acknowledgment to the Joinrequest. Thus, the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 is able to display all theSessions that the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 is able to Join. The ConferenceManager 3102, as the initiator of the Sessions, sends an Invite( )message to the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 for each session that the UE 3308,3310, or 3314 is able to Join. The UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 may not Join aSession without first receiving an Invite( ) from the Session initiator,which may be the Conference Manager 3102 in this scenario.

In other Conference situations, the user may select the Sessions to beJoined. In this case, the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 may be programmed toautomatically Join those sessions pertinent to its Role. Hence, the UEs3308 of Command Post personnel and those UEs 3310 of First Respondersmay accept a Join Invite( ) to the audio 3324, video 3328, Alarm 3330,and Robot Control 3332 sessions. The robot-mounted video sensors 3314may accept a Join Invite( ) only of the video session 3328 with anability only to send/Publish video, but not to receive it. The FixedSensors 3312 are not participants in the Conference in this examplescenario. They may only Publish their data to the Topic indicated in thenext subsection, where the Topic is Subscribed-to by the Fixed SensorData Analysis Service 3304.

When the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 Publishes a request to Join a Session(e.g., for a video session 3328:ServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/video), the ConferenceManager 3102 may receive the request, determine from the Role of the UE3308, 3310, or 3314 whether the request can be granted, and if it can,may generate one or more Topics to assign to the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314for the session. For instance, a Join of an audio session 3324 maygenerate two Topics. One is for the UE 3308 or 3310 to use in Publishingits audio stream. The other is for the UE 3308 or 3310 to Subscribe-to,so it may receive the mixed audio stream being sent to it by the audiomixer 3318 in the Media Server 3108. The mixed audio stream has theconcurrent audio packets generated by all UE participants, except forthe UE receiving the stream. Robot-mounted sensor UEs 3314 do notparticipate in the audio session 3324 in this scenario.

For a video session 3328, two Topics may be generated for the FirstResponder 3310 and for the Command Post 3308 UEs. Only one Topic may begenerated for a robot-mounted sensor 3314 UE. The first Topic may beused by the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 in Publishing its video stream. Thesecond, if generated, may be for the UE 3308 or 3310 to Subscribe-to toreceive the mixed video stream being generated by the video mixer 3320at the Media Server 3108. Here, too, the mixed video contains the videostreams generated by all video-generating-sensors and by all participantUEs 3308, 3310, or 3314, except for the receiving UE. (Actually, asequence of grabbed images, one from each participant 3308 and 3310 andsensor stream 3314, may be sent. When the user selects a particularvideo stream, only the video stream from the selected participant 3308or 3310, or sensor 3314, may be sent to the requesting UE 3308 or 3310.)

For an Alarm session 3330, one Topic may be generated, and isSubscribed-to by the UE 3308 or 3310 to receive the Alarms. Only FirstResponder 3310 and Command Post 3308 UEs may Join the Alarm session, andmost likely, the same Alarm Topic may be assigned to all UEs 3308 and3310 that Join the Alarm session, so the Alarm is Published once by theFixed Sensor Data Analysis 3304 Alarm generator function, and allSubscribing UEs 3308 and 3310 may be able to receive it.

For the Robot-control session 3332, two Topics may be generated. Thefirst may be for the UE 3308 or 3310 to use to Publish Robot controlcommands. The second may be for the UE 3308 or 3310 to use to Subscribefor reception of Robot responses to those commands.

As the participant list changes for each Session, the Conference Manager3102 may Publish an updated session participant list, so it is receivedby each UE 3308 and 3310 participating in that Conference session. PerTable 8, all UEs 3308 and 3310 participating in a session whose name is“sessionName” Subscribe to the Topic:ServiceControl/ConfSvc/EmergencyAction/<confID>/<sessionName-Notify> toreceive the Session participant change notices for that particularsession (e.g., for the video session 3328, the last part of the Topicstring may be “video-Notify”).

The Topics generated by the Conference Manager 3102 may not be strings,but may be 8-byte numbers. Transmission of audio 3324 and video 3328streams requires low delay, so the use of String Topics may be avoidedto reduce the time spent by the P/S Broker 1304 network to determinerouting of these packets. Because the Topic generation is handled by theConference Manager 3102, their uniqueness may be guaranteed. When a UE3308, 3310, or 3314 joins a Session, the Conference Manager 3102 has togenerate the Topic(s), and may send the Topics to the UE 3308, 3310, or3314 and also to the Session Manager 3104, which takes care ofPublishing them to the Media Server 3108, where the audio and videostreams from UEs are collected, and where the mixed streams 3324 and3328 are Published. In the case of the Alarm session 3330, theConference Manager 3102 may send the Topic to the Fixed Sensor DataAnalysis service 3304, as well as to the UEs 3308 and 3310 that Join theAlarm session 3330. For the Robot-control session 3332, the Topics maybe sent to the Robot participants 3314 that Join the Robot-controlsession 3332 (they all do in this scenario), as well as to the UEs 3308and 3310 that Join the Robot-control session.

Meanwhile, the First Responder UEs 3310 and the Command Post personnelUEs 3308 may display all the available sessions to the user, as well asthose sessions that the user may have Joined.

FIG. 36 shows the message interactions that may occur when a UE 3308,3310, or 3314 Joins the Conference, and then subsequently Joins one ormore Sessions. Again, the P/S Broker 1304 routing and interactions areomitted in FIG. 36 for the sake of simplifying the messaging diagram. Tokeep the interactions to a limited number in FIG. 36, all the SessionJoins for the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 are not shown. Readers who areskilled in the art may recognize that all sessions required by aparticular UE-type may be joined in the manner indicated in FIG. 36.

Once the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 has Joined all of its sessions, it mayparticipate in all the services allowed to it during the Conference. AUE 3308 or 3310 that has joined the audio session 3324 may now Publishits audio packets to the Topic received in the Join(audio) interactions.It also may receive the mixed audio stream 3324 via the audio Topic towhich it now Subscribes for that purpose. The user 3308 or 3310 is thusin audio conference with every other user 3308 and 3310 in the audiosession 3324. Likewise, the UE 3308 or 3310 may display the grabbedimage of each video stream in the video session 3328 of the Conference,including those of the Robot-mounted sensors 3314 and those of the FirstResponse team members 3310. When a user 3308 or 3310 selects one of thegrabbed images on the display, the UE 3308 or 3310 may send a controlmessage to the Conference Manager 3102 to select a particular videostream. The Conference Manager 3102 may send the instruction to theSession Manager 3104, which informs the Media Server 3108 to stopsending the mixed video stream to the Topic it Publishes on for that UE3308 or 3310. The Conference Manager 3102 may return to the UE 3308 or3310 the Topic number used by another UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 to Publishthe selected video stream. The requesting UE 3308 or 3310 may Subscribeto that Topic, and may begin to receive the selected video stream. Thusa first responder 3310 or a command person 3308 may receive the videostream being sent by any sensor 3314, or by any video publisher 3310 inthe conference. Note that the P/S Broker 1304 middleware being used inthis disclosure does not change the way in which the generator of (inthis case) a video stream transmits its video packets. If another endpoint (i.e., user 3308 or 3310) needs to receive that video stream, theP/S Broker 1304 network arranges for the delivery of the stream, as longas the new viewer Subscribes to the Topic being used to Publish thevideo stream packets.

Likewise, once the UE 3308, 3310, or 3314 Joins any other session, andthe corresponding Topics are distributed appropriately, the UE 3308,3310, or 3314 may be able to participate in that Session. FirstResponder 3310 and Command Post 3308 UEs may receive the Alarmsgenerated by the Fixed Sensor Data Analysis service 3304. FirstResponder 3310 and Command Post 3308 UEs may send movement commands tothe mobile Robot UEs 3314 (the Conference Manager 3102 distributes aSubscribe Topic to each mobile Robot UE 3314 when it Joins theRobot-control session 3332, and distributes that Topic as a PublishTopic to each First Responder 3310 and Command Post 3308 UE that joinsthe Robot-control Session 3332).

Fixed Sensor Data Collection and Alarm Distribution

As noted in the above descriptions in this disclosure, the Fixed Sensors3312 in this scenario do not directly participate in the MultimediaConference. Depending on their capabilities, they may monitor formovement, or may detect smoke or chemicals, or may detect heat, orsound, etc. When they sense something to report, these sensors 3312 maysend their information to the Fixed Sensor Data Analysis service 3304,which may analyze the data, and generate an Alarm, if appropriate. Thus,when a Fixed Sensor 3312 is turned on, it may connect to the LTEnetwork, it may connect to a P/S Broker 1304, and it may send a ServiceInquiry to locate one or more instances of the Fixed Sensor DataAnalysis service 3304 (there is just one in this scenario example).Suppose the Fixed Sensor Data Analysis service 3304 subscribes to theTopic ServiceInquiry/FixedSensor/* to receive the Service Inquirymessages. Each Fixed Sensor 3312 may Publish its Service Inquiry messageto the Topic ServiceInquiry/FixedSensor/<myIMSI>. By including itsunique IMSI value, the Fixed Sensor Data Analysis 3304 service softwaremay Publish a Service Description reply that is routed by the P/S Broker1304 network only to the Fixed Sensor 3312 that generated the ServiceInquiry. The Service Description may include an identity value that isunique across all the Fixed Sensor Data Analysis 3304 service instancesin the network. Once the Fixed Sensor 3312 and the Fixed Sensor DataAnalysis 3304 program are in possession of the unique ID of the otherparty, the Fixed Sensor 3312 and the Analysis 3304 service program maythereafter exchange messages with one another via the P/S Broker 1304network.

The Fixed Sensor 3312 may send an InitiateService( ) message to theFixed Sensor Data Analysis 3304 service instance, providing informationsuch as its GPS location coordinates and its detection capabilities. TheFixed Sensor Data Analysis 3304 service software may Publish anInitiateServiceAck( ) message in which it assigns a Topic that the FixedSensor 3312 is to use to Publish data for whatever it detects.

Meanwhile, as indicated above in FIG. 36, each UE 3308 and 3310 thatJoins the Alarm session may receive a Topic to which it Subscribes toreceive Alarms, and that Topic may also be maintained at the FixedSensor Data Analysis 3304 service program as a Publish Topic for Alarms.If all UEs 3308 and 3310 in the Session are to receive all Alarms, thenthe same Topic may be assigned to each UE 3308 and 3310 participant inthe Alarm session. If different UEs 3308 and 3310 are to be maderesponsive to different sets of Alarms, then the Alarm session Topicsassigned to different UEs 3308 and 3310 by the Conference Manager may bedifferent. At any rate, when a Fixed Sensor 3312 Publishes data to itsassigned Topic, it is received by the Fixed Sensor Data Analysis 3304service software, analyzed, and if an Alarm is generated, it isPublished to the Topic, or Topics, associated with that Alarm type. TheAlarm may then be received by all UEs 3308 and 3310 in the Alarm sessionthat have Subscribed to the Published Topic. These interactions areshown below in FIG. 37. The P/S Broker 1304 network is again omitted inFIG. 37 for the sake of simplifying the interaction diagram.

Image Collection, Storage, and Distribution

As noted in the above descriptions of the Emergency Action scenario, theUEs 3310 of the First Responder team members may be capable of takingpictures as the members go through the area of operation. These imagesmay need to be loaded onto a server, and made available to the othermembers of the First Responder team 3310, as well as to the personnel3308 located at the Command Post. The Image Server 3302 shown in FIG. 34may run on the OptServereNB 308 associated with the eNB 102 that coversthe area of operation, and may provide the means to upload and storethese images, and to make them available for download to any participant3308 or 3310 in the Emergency Action operation. By executing the ImageServer 3302 software on the OptServereNB 308, no back haul 112 is usedto carry the images from the First Responder team member UEs 3310 to thestorage site, and no back haul 112 is used to download the images tomembers of the First Responder team 3310. Transmission delays over theback haul 112 are thus avoided in this architecture, and back haul 112utilization is minimized, so it is available for other services. Whenimages are downloaded to participants 3308 at the Command Post, the backhaul 112 is used, because in this example scenario, their UEs 3308access the network via a different eNB 102 element from the oneassociated with the OptServereNB 308 that runs the Image Server 3302.See FIG. 34.

When the user invokes the image handling program on the UE 3308 or 3310,the program must first locate an Image Server 3302 in the APN network.To do so, it may Publish a Service Inquiry message to the TopicServiceInquiry/ImageService/<IMSI>, where <IMSI> is the unique IDassigned to the UE 3308 or 3310. Meanwhile, all Image Server 3302instances Subscribe to the generic Topic ServiceInquiry/ImageService/*,and therefore receive the Service Inquiry messages that are Published bythe UEs 3308 or 3310. The Image Server 3302 may Publish aServiceDescription reply message to the TopicServiceInquiry/ImageService/<IMSI>, so the P/S Broker 1304 network mayroute the reply only to the UE 3308 or 3310 that sent the ServiceInquiry. In this example scenario, there is only one Image Server 3302in the network, so one Service Description is returned to the UE 3308 or3310 for its Inquiry. The Service Description message may contain theunique ID assigned to the Image Server 3302 program. Hence, from thispoint onwards, the UE 3308 or 3310 and the Image Server 3302 instancemay exchange messages via the P/S Broker 1304 network. The UE 3308 or3310 image handling program may register itself with the Image Server3302 instance, and may receive a Topic to use when Publishing images tothe Server (only UEs 3310 do this in this example scenario), a secondTopic to use when Publishing service requests (e.g., for image downloadsand for image information) to the Image Server 3302, a third Topic touse to Subscribe to receive service response information from the ImageServer 3302, plus a fourth Topic to use to receive downloads of imagesfrom the Image Server 3302.

When an image is recorded at the UE 3310, the image handling program onthe UE 3310 may tag the image with the current GPS coordinates of the UE3310, may add the date and time, and may allow the user to entercomments. This information may be kept together with the image in the UE3310 memory. When the user selects to upload this image to the ImageServer 3302, the UE 3310 image handling program may use the PublishTopic given to it during its initial interaction with the Image Server3302 to upload the image and the associated tag information to the ImageServer 3302. The image and its tag data may be saved to permanentstorage by the Image Server 3302.

When a user (3308 or 3310) elects to see one or more images kept at theImage Server 3302, the UE 3308 or 3310 may Publish a request message viaits assigned service request Topic. The request may ask for a list ofimages stored from a particular user 3310, or from a set of dates/times,or from a set of locations, etc. The list may be returned to the user UE3308 or 3310 via the Topic assigned to it to receive responses to theservice requests. Another service request Published by the user UE 3308or 3310 may request the download of one or more specific images from thelist. These images may be downloaded to the user UE 3308 or 3310 via theTopic assigned to the UE 3308 or 3310 to receive image downloads. Theseinteractions are shown in FIG. 38. Here, too, the P/S Broker 1304interactions in the messaging scheme are omitted for the sake ofsimplicity.

The disclosure presented herein utilizing the Emergency Action scenarioshows how the APN LTE Wireless Network and its associated OptimizationServer 304 and 308 architecture, plus the redirected bearer 312capability, and the P/S Broker 1304 Middleware components may be used tohandle a variety of sensor requirements. It should be clear to thoseskilled in the art that any sensor data collection and processing notcovered in this scenario example is capable of being deployed in anefficient manner using the APN LTE Wireless Network Optimization Servers304 and 308, the bearer redirection 312 capability, and the associatedP/S Broker 1304 middleware, thereby demonstrating the ability of thesystems disclosed in this document to be used as a platform for sensordata collection, storage, analysis, and distribution.

APN LTE Network to Give Data Rate Priority to LTE Users

In an LTE network, and especially in a Dual Use LTE network, users maybe given Access Priorities, and may be assigned bearer priorities, butthey are not assigned a priority for being allocated air interfaceresources to send or receive data. It may be desirable to assignpriorities to users for receiving high data rates when there are manyusers accessed through a particular Cell. This situation may occur whenthere is no emergency condition, and therefore Cell Barring forGovernment Use (CB-for-GU) is not enabled at the Cell. Alternatively,there may be an emergency or disaster condition, and the Cell may bebarred for Government Use, but there are still so many users accessingthe LTE network through the restricted Cell that the highest priorityusers are not able to receive the high data rates that they may need.

In an LTE system, user equipment (UE 104) is granted a set of PhysicalResource Blocks (each PRB is a set of 12 contiguous sub-carriers used inthe system) and a time for sending uplink data. Likewise, the LTE systemschedules a time and a set of PRBs to carry downlink data to aparticular UE 104. The software component within the LTE system thatperforms this function is the Scheduler within the eNB 102 element. TheScheduler may generally be designed to give fair treatment to all theUEs 104 that access the LTE network through the Cells of the eNB 102.However, there may be situations in which UEs 104 designated as HighPriority UEs 104 require preferential treatment in the assignment ofPRBs for over-the-air transmissions. The number of PRBs assigned to theUE 104, plus the encoding applied to the data, determines the data ratethat is provided to the UE 104.

Assigning Data Rate Priorities to UEs and Configuring the eNB Schedulerto Use the Values

This disclosure describes methods and systems for configuring the eNB102 Scheduler with a Data Rate Priority value for each UE 104 thataccesses a Cell contained within the eNB 102. The Scheduler may use theData Rate Priority value associated with a given user to guide itsassignment of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) to the user for sendingand receiving data over the LTE air interface, and/or to give time-basedpriority to the UE 104 for access to the LTE air interface. Previoussections of this disclosure are pertinent to the present disclosure,namely, the use of a Publish/Subscribe (P/S) Broker 1304 middleware toimplement efficient communications among elements in the APN LTEnetwork, the use a set of Optimization Server 304 and 308 nodes that areassociated with the LTE network elements and integrated into the LTEprocedure processing in the network, the use of a Wireless ControlProcess (WCP) 3902 and its interface to the eNB 102 elements to effectthe delivery of UE 102 Data Rate Priority values to the eNB 102, andthence, to the Scheduler, the use of an Application Function (AF 2102)that contains provisioning data for high priority UEs 104 (IMSI values),or is able to access a database of IMSI values that may containprovisioning information pertaining to the Data Rate Prioritycapability. See the previous sections of this disclosure.

The following set of list items describes the mechanics that may be putinto place to implement the Data Rate Priority capability referred toabove. It may be recognized by those skilled in the art that deviationsfrom the descriptions given below may be made, while achieving the sameresult. The teachings presented specifically below are thus illustrativeof how a Data Rate Priority feature may be implemented in an LTEWireless Network.

-   -   1. All users 104 may be assigned by the eNB 102 Scheduler a Data        Rate Priority value of 1 by default when they first gain access        to a Cell. The default value of UE 104 Data Rate Priority may be        inserted by the Scheduler into a data record kept for the UE 104        by the Scheduler.    -   2. The AF 2102 program that may run on the OptServerPGW 304 node        may be provisioned on a per-Cell basis with DataRatePriority        OFF, or ON. The default value may be OFF. When the value of the        DataRatePriority variable is changed for a Cell, the AF 2102 may        interact with an application program referred to herein as the        Wireless Control Process 3902 to cause the Data Rate Priority        value of each currently Registered UE 102 that is served by the        Cell to be updated appropriately (i.e., to the value 1 if the        DataRatePriority becomes OFF at the Cell, or to the UE 104 Data        Rate Priority value assigned to the UE 104 if the        DataRatePriority becomes ON at the Cell).    -   3. The eNB 102 interface with the Wireless Control Process 3902        that runs on the OptServerPGW 304 may be used to send a Data        Rate Priority value to the eNB 102 for a given UE 104 (the        C-RNTI kept at the Wireless Control Process 3902 as part of the        data saved per UE 104 is used to identify the UE 104 at the eNB        102).    -   4. Hence, for all UEs 104 that do not interface with the        Wireless Control Process 3902, their Data Rate Priority remains        set at the default value 1. Such UEs 104 may be those of        non-government agency users that may be Roaming on the Dual Use        APN Wireless Network. All government agency users, and likewise,        many, or all, other users of the Dual Use APN Wireless Network        may have software that interfaces with the Wireless Control        Process 3902 via the P/S Broker 1304 middleware. For UEs 104        that interface with the Wireless Control Process 3902, such        interfacing may occur whenever the UE 104 accesses a Cell in the        APN Wireless Network, i.e., whenever the UE 104 sends the        Register message (i.e., after the LTE Initial Access procedure),        or sends the RegisterUpdate message (i.e., after the LTE Service        Request procedure), or sends a Handover message (i.e., after the        LTE Handover procedure), to the Wireless Control Process 3902.        See FIG. 4 and FIG. 6. During the processing of any of these        messages, the Wireless Control Process 3902 may interface with        the AF 2102 via the P/S Brokering 1304 middleware to obtain the        Data Rate Priority value associated with the UE 104 IMSI. If the        provisioning at the AF 2102 for the Cell ID in the Wireless        Control Process 3902 request message indicates DataRatePriority        OFF, the AF 2102 may return the value 1 for the UE 104 Data Rate        Priority. Otherwise, the AF 2102 may check the Data Rate        Priority provisioned into it for the UE 104 IMSI, or check the        value provisioned into an accessible IMSI database. If the AF        2102 does not retrieve information provisioned for the UE 104        IMSI, the default value of 1 may be returned. Otherwise, the AF        2102 may obtain the Data Rate Priority value provisioned for the        UE 104 IMSI, and return that value to the Wireless Control        Process 3902. The Wireless Control Process 3902 may therefore        send the UE 104 Data Rate Priority value to the eNB 102 when it        processes the UE 102 Register message, or RegisterUpdate        message, or Handover message, whether or not a UE 102 bearer 302        is subsequently redirected at the eNB 102 by the Wireless        Control Process 3902. The values used for the UE 104 Data Rate        Priority may be any value 1, or greater, with the higher number        value implying a higher Data Rate Priority for the UE 104.    -   5. The eNB 104 Scheduler may be changed from current        implementations to take the Data Rate Priority value into        account when scheduling the UE 104 to receive or send data. For        example, if the eNB 102 Scheduler is about to schedule downlink        data to be sent to a set of UEs 104, the set of available PRBs        may be assigned based on the RF conditions reported previously        by the UEs 104, and also based on the Data Rate Priority        associated with the UEs 104. The UE 104 with the highest Data        Rate Priority value may receive the maximum number of PRBs        consistent with sending the data queued for that UE 104, or, may        be handled by the Scheduler before the Scheduler handles a UE        104 with a lower Data Rate Priority value. Meanwhile, all UEs        104 with Data Rate Priority 1 may receive a number of PRBs        smaller than the maximum number that might otherwise be        assigned, because some number of PRBs have been assigned to UEs        104 with higher Data Rate Priority values. All UEs 104 with the        same Data Rate Priority value may receive equal treatment by the        Scheduler in terms of being assigned a number of PRBs, or in        terms of being handled first by the Scheduler.

The disclosure in the above paragraphs may be seen in FIG. 39, FIG. 40,FIG. 41, FIG. 42, and FIG. 43. The first three of these figures add theData Rate Priority interactions to the interactions shown in FIG. 4 andFIG. 6, where the Wireless Control Process 3902 and the P/S Broker 1304messaging infrastructure are shown explicitly (FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 do notshow these components explicitly). FIG. 39 may apply to the situation inwhich the UE 104 has not yet registered with the Wireless ControlProcess 3902 (i.e., during the Initial Access Procedure). FIG. 40 mayapply to the situation in which the UE 104 has previously registeredwith the Wireless Control Process 3902, but must provide an updatebecause, for example, the UE 104 is in transition from the ECM-IDLEstate to the ECM-CONNECTED state. FIG. 41 may apply to the situationwhere the UE 104 is in Handover to a new eNB 102. Each of these threesituations may result in the UE 104 accessing a different Cell thanpreviously, and hence, the newly accessed eNB 102 must be informed ofthe Data Rate Priority for the UE 104. FIG. 42 may apply to thesituation where the AF 2102 is provisioned to turn DataRatePriority ONfor one or more Cells in the LTE network. FIG. 43 may apply to thesituation where the AF 2102 is provisioned to turn DataRatePriority OFFfor one or more Cells in the LTE network.

FIG. 39 shows an elaboration and modification of the procedure shown inFIG. 4 and described earlier in this disclosure. The elaboration showshow the UE 104 may use the P/S Broker 1304 middleware to communicatewith the Wireless Control Process 3902 that runs on the OptServerPGW 304node. The portNumber in the StartServices message is the port number ofthe P/S Broker to which the UE 104 connects. Meanwhile, the AF 2102software that plays a role in the disclosure provided herein forimplementing a Dual Use Network may also be provisioned with IMSI data,or have access to an IMSI database, that includes the Data Rate Priorityvalue assigned to the UE 104 IMSI. In a modification to the proceduredescribed in FIG. 4, the Wireless Control Process 3902 and the AF 2102may communicate via the services of the P/S Broker 1304 middleware, asshown in FIG. 39, FIG. 40, FIG. 41, FIG. 42, and FIG. 43, to provide theData Rate Priority value for a given IMSI, and to update the serving eNB102 with this value.

To receive messages from a multiplicity of UEs 104, the Wireless ControlProcess 3902 may Subscribe to the Topic “WirelessControl/*”. Tocommunicate with the Wireless Control Process 3902, a UE 104 may Publishits message to the Topic “WirelessControl/<myIMSI>”, where <myIMSI> isthe unique IMSI value assigned to the UE 104. When the Wireless ControlProcess 3902 responds to a particular UE 104, it may Publish the messageto the Topic “WirelessControl/<IMSI>”, where <IMSI> is the valueassigned to the targeted UE 104. The UE 104 must have previouslySubscribed to this Topic to receive messages on this Topic.

To effect the exchange of messages between the Wireless Control Process3902 and the AF 2102, the AF 2102 may Subscribe to the Topic“AF/data/*”. The Wireless Control Process 3902 may then Publish theDataRatePriorityCheck( ) message to the Topic “AF/data/<WCPid>”, where<WCPid> is a unique ID assigned to the Wireless Control Process 3902,and where the Wireless Control Process 3902 Subscribes to receivemessages on the Topic “AF/data/<WCPid>”. The AF 2102 may then reply tothe Wireless Control Process 3902 by Publishing theDataRatePriorityCheckResponse( ) message to the Topic “AF/data/<WCPid>”.

When the UE 104 first accesses the LTE network, it proceeds as describedin the earlier sections in this disclosure (see FIG. 4), until theDedicatedBearerEstablished message is Published by the UE 104 toWireless Control Process 3902 (see FIG. 39). At this point in theRegistration Procedure, it may be appropriate for the Wireless ControlProcess 3902 to Publish the DataRatePriorityCheck message to the AF2102. The AF 2102 may use the Cell_ID in the message and the IMSI toobtain a Data Rate Priority value for the IMSI, and may then Publish theDataRatePriorityCheckResponse message to the Wireless Control Process3902. The Wireless Control Process 3902 may then use its directinterface with the eNB 102 that serves the UE 104 to deliver the DataRate Priority value associated with the UE 104, and the value may bepassed by the eNB 102 software to the eNB 102 Scheduler. The remainderof the Registration procedure proceeds as shown in FIG. 4 (and FIG. 39).

FIG. 40 shows the processing that may be used when the UE 104transitions from the ECM-IDLE state to the ECM-CONNECTED state, andsuccessfully completes the LTE Service Request Procedure. Theinteractions that ensue to register the UE 104 with the Wireless ControlProcess 3902 for the new Cell ID and new C-RNTI value are the same asshown in FIG. 39, except that the RegisterUpdate and RegisterUpdateAckmessages are exchanged, instead of the Register and RegisterAck messagesof FIG. 39. The same parameters may be contained in the messages in bothcases.

FIG. 41 shows an elaboration and a modification of the procedure shownin FIG. 6 and described earlier in this disclosure. The elaborationshows how the UE 104 may use the P/S Broker 1304 middleware tocommunicate with the Wireless Control Process 3902 that runs on theOptServer_(PGW) 304 node. The portNumber received by the UE 104 in theResumeSession message is the port number of the P/S Broker 1304 to whichthe UE 104 connects. FIG. 6 shows the interactions during a Handoverprocedure for integrating the Optimization Server 304 and 308 into theLTE network behaviors, and for redirecting a UE bearer 312 at the targeteNB 102 for the purpose of allowing the UE 104 to communicate directlywith an OptServereNB 308 node associated with the target eNB 102. Perthe present disclosure, FIG. 41 shows how the procedure of FIG. 6 may bemodified to also include making an update at the target eNB 102Scheduler for the UE 104 Data Rate Priority value.

When the Handover is completed, and the UE 104 Publishes the Handovermessage to the Wireless Control Process 3902, the new C-RNTI and the newCell_ID values are made available to the Wireless Control Process 3902,along with the UE 104 IMSI value. The Wireless Control Process 3902 maytherefore interact with the AF 2102 to obtain the Data Rate Priorityassigned to the UE 104 (or, the value 1, if the new Cell_ID hasDataRatePriority OFF). The Wireless Control Process 3902 may thendeliver the UE 104 Data Rate Priority to the target eNB 102 via a directcommunication interaction, so it may be passed to the eNB 102 Scheduler.The Wireless Control Process thereafter may continue with the processingof the Handover procedure by exchanging the RedirectBearer andRedirectBearerResponse messages with the target eNB 102, and withcausing the UE 104 to resume its service session via the OptServereNB308 that is associated with the target eNB 102. See FIG. 6 and FIG. 41.

Data Rate Priority is Turned ON for One or More Cells

See FIG. 42 for the following message interaction descriptions. As notedin the preceding paragraphs, the AF 2102 may be provisioned with theDataRatePriority value assigned to each Cell in the LTE network. Whenthe DataRatePriority variable is changed from OFF to ON for a Cell, allthe UEs 104 that are Registered with the Wireless Control Process 3902and that access the LTE network via the Cell need to have their DataRate Priority values updated at the Scheduler of the serving eNB 102that contains the Cell. The current Data Rate Priority of the UE 104 mayhave the value 1 at the Scheduler, because the DataRatePriority valuepreviously associated with the Cell is OFF. FIG. 42 shows the processingthat may be required to update the eNB 102 Scheduler with the Data RatePriority values of each Registered UE 104 that accesses the network viathat Cell.

The Wireless Control Process 3902 may Subscribe to the generic Topic“WirelessControl/*” to receive messages from a multiplicity of endpoints. When the AF 2102 is provisioned with a value of ON for theDataRatePriority for a given Cell, or Cells, the AF 2102 may Publish aCelIDataRatePriorityON message to the Topic“WirelessControl/dataRatePriority/<AFid>”, so the message may bereceived by all instances of the Wireless Control Process 3902. Themessage contains a list of Cell ID values. This message is received bythe Wireless Control Process 3902. For each Cell_ID in the message, theWireless Control Process 3902 may search its data structures for all UEs104 that have registered with it, and have indicated their serving CellID as the value selected from the message sent by the AF 2102. The listof UE 104 IMSI values thus collected by the Wireless Control Process3902 may be placed into a BulkDataRatePriorityRequest message that isPublished to the Topic “AF/<WCPid>”, so it is received by the AF 2102. Amessage is sent for each Cell_ID in the message received by the WCP3902. When the BulkDataRatePriorityRequest message is received by the AF2102, the AF 2102 may search its provisioned data, or an accessible IMSIdatabase, on a per-IMSI basis, for the Data Rate Priority value of eachIMSI. The results may be placed into a BulkDataRatePriorityResponsemessage that may be Published to the Topic “AF/<WCPid>”, so it isreceived by the requesting Wireless Control Process 3902 instance. TheWireless Control Process 3902 may then retrieve from its provisioneddata the C-RNTI value corresponding to each IMSI, and also retrieve fromits provisioned data the IP address of the eNB 102 that serves each Cellin the received message, and send the Data Rate Priority value for eachUE (C-RNTI) that accesses the network through each corresponding Cell.These interactions are followed for each Cell_ID value in theCelIDataRatePriorityON message.

Data Rate Priority is Turned OFF for One or More Cells

See FIG. 43 for the following message interaction descriptions. When theDataRatePriority variable is changed from ON to OFF for a Cell, all theUEs 104 that are registered with the Wireless Control Process 3902 andthat access the LTE network via the Cell need to have their Data RatePriority values updated at the Scheduler of the eNB 102 that containsthe Cell. At the Scheduler, the current Data Rate Priority of the UE 104may have the value provisioned for the UE 104 IMSI, because theDataRatePriority value previously assigned to the Cell is ON. Thesevalues now need to be changed to the value 1, so all UEs 104 that accessthe network through that Cell can obtain equal priority treatment fromthe eNB 102 Scheduler. FIG. 43 shows the processing that may be requiredto update the eNB 102 Scheduler with the Data Rate Priority value of 1for each Registered UE 104 that accesses the network via that Cell.

When the AF 2102 provisioning is changed, so the DataRatePriority valueof one or more Cells is changed from ON to OFF, the AF 2102 may Publishthe CelIDataRatePriorityOFF message to the Topic“WirelessControl/dataRatePriority/<AFid>”, so the message may bereceived by all instances of the Wireless Control Process 3902. Themessage contains a list of Cell ID values. For each Cell ID in thereceived message, the Wireless Control Process 3902 may search its datastructures for all UEs 104 that have registered with it, and haveindicated their serving Cell ID as the value selected from the messagesent by the AF 2102. The data kept at the Wireless Control Process 3902for each such UE 104 includes the C-RNTI value, which is the identifierby which the UE 104 is known at the serving eNB 102. The list of UE 104C-RNTI values may be collected by the Wireless Control Process 3902, andplaced into a UEDataRatePriorityList message that is sent to the eNB 102that handles the selected Cell whose DataRatePriority value has changedto OFF. For each C-RNTI value, the message may indicate that the DataRate Priority value of 1 is to be associated with the C-RNTI thatidentifies a UE 104 to the eNB 102 Scheduler. When this message isreceived by the eNB 102, the UE 104 values are updated accordingly bythe Scheduler.

Collecting and Reporting Billing Data at Optimization Servers in an APNLTE Network

Because the OptServer_(eNB) 308 data exchanges with the UE 104 are notsent through an SGW 110 and PGW 114, the PGW 114 is unable to createbilling information for this usage of the air interface. This conditionmay not be important for some applications (e.g., for a militaryapplication, or for an Emergency application), but may be important forcommercial applications. In this latter case, programs on theOptServer_(eNB) 308 may keep track of the bytes, packets, connectiontime, etc. required to generate the equivalent of a Call Detail Record(CDR) for the transport of data that traverses a redirected bearer 312,and must be able to convey this information to the PGW 114, or to someother billing data processor, at the appropriate time(s). (Differentcharging may be applied to this usage, because the back haul 112 may notbe used to transport the data between the OptServer_(eNB) 308 and the UE104.) Furthermore, the resources provided by the Optimization Servers304 and 308 may include permanent data storage, temporary data storage,program execution time, etc., and the operator of the APN network maydesire to charge for the use of these system resources. Hence, billingdata must also be collected for the Optimization Server 304 and 308resource usage.

The Broadband Forum IPDR (IP session Detail Record) is specified in TR232 (http://www.broadband-forum.org/technical/download/TR-232.pdf), andprovides an outline for data reporting that may be used to organize andreport the collection of the billing data at the OptServer_(eNB) 308 andat the OptServer_(PGW) 304, and the sending of the detail record to thePGW 114, or to another processing point for such data. Passing thebilling detail requires a specification of the precise data to becollected, and either an interface into the PGW 114 that allows anOptimization Server 304 or 308 to effect the transfer of theinformation, or the specification of another processing entity that ischarged with handling this information.

Furthermore, collection of IP detail records for particular redirectedbearers 312 associated with particular UEs 104 needs to be worked out,because at the OptServer_(eNB) 308 with a redirected bearer 312, nobearer-IMSI mapping is immediately available. The extension of theredirected bearer 312 that remains at the PGW 114 is no longerapplicable to this situation, because packets that traverse a redirectedbearer 312 do not pass through the PGW 114, and hence, cannot beaccounted for by the PGW 114 in its usual manner of collecting billingdata. The bearer-IMSI mapping for the redirected bearer 312 may need tobe conveyed to a billing data collection program on the OptServer_(eNB)308, and a design may need to be made to generate the data, and totransport the billing data to the billing data collection service. Thisdisclosure may provide such a design. Also, when the UE 104 moves fromone eNB 102 to another, the redirected bearer 312 moves from oneOptServer_(eNB) 308 to another, and the billing data collection pointmay need to be migrated for the data that traverses the redirectedbearer 312. This disclosure may also provide details for how thismovement of the billing data collection point may be arranged.

As noted above, in addition to the transport of user data packets viathe redirected bearer 312 entities, use of the resources at theOptServer_(PGW) 304 and OptServer_(eNB) 308 entities may need to bereported. For this purpose, operating system statistics may be collectedand used, e.g., process text size and .bss (random access memory) size,permanent memory file size and storage time, etc. This disclosure mayprovide details of how this data collection and reporting may bearranged on the OptServer_(PGW) 304 and OptServer_(eNB) 308 nodes in theAPN network architecture.

An Architecture that May be Used to Collect and Report Billing Data atOptimization Servers

Readers skilled in the art may recognize that many alternative means maybe devised to organize the collection and reporting of data that may beused for billing purposes in an APN LTE Network with its set ofintegrated Optimization Servers 304 and 308. However, any architecturethat succeeds in this task may be seen to provide a means of identifyinga set of usage data, including, perhaps, duration of usage, with aparticular user or other billing entity, and of transferring thecollected data in a timely manner to an appropriate designated billingcenter. The teachings provided in this disclosure provide one sucharchitecture. The architecture takes advantage of capabilities madeinherent in the APN Network via the disclosures reported previously inthis document, and thus provides what may be a most efficient means ofcollecting and reporting the needed billing data.

FIG. 44 shows that on each OptServer_(eNB) 308 node, a program calledthe IP Billing Data Record (IPBDR_(eNB) 4404) program instance may runfor the purpose of collecting billing data pertinent to using theresources of the OptServer_(eNB) 308 and also pertinent to collectingbilling information related to the transport of user data using theredirected bearers 312 that terminate on the OptServer_(eNB) 308 node.Further, a similar program instance, the IPBDR_(PGW) 4402, is seen torun on the OptServer_(PGW) 304 node that is associated with the PGW 114element in the APN LTE Network. Whereas the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 program maybe concerned with collecting billing data for resource usage on itslocal server and also for the transport of data over UE 104 redirectedbearers 312, the IPBDR_(PGW) program may only be concerned withcollecting billing data for resource usage on its local server. Thereason for this difference is that any user data transported by LTEbearers to the OptServer_(PGW) passes through the PGW 114 element, andtherefore, billing data for this transport is collected and reported bythe PGW 114 element in the usual fashion well known to those skilled inthe art. FIG. 44 also shows a set of Service Programs 4408 that run onthe Optimization Servers 304 and 308. These may be the same serviceprogram, such as depicted in FIG. 17, or they may be different serviceprograms. Also shown in FIG. 44 is a Central IP Billing Data Collectionand processing program 4410. This program 4410 is shown to run on aserver 124 that is external to the APN LTE Network, but the serverlocation may alternatively be within the APN LTE Network, on theOptServer_(PGW) 304 node, for example. The function of this program inthe architecture shown in this disclosure is to aggregate the data beingcollected and reported by the IPBDR_(PGW) 4402 program and by themultiplicity of IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 programs, to store the aggregatedresults in a database for easier access by the operator of the APN LTENetwork, and to distribute the aggregated billing data to the formalbilling system programs used by the LTE Network operator for WirelessNetwork billing purposes. Note that in FIG. 44, all the programcomponents mentioned above connect to a P/S Broker 1304 instance, andhence, are able to participate in the Publish/Subscribe messagingdescribed throughout this disclosure.

A unique ID may be assigned to each OptServer_(eNB) 308 node and to theOptServer_(PGW) 304 node. This assignment may be desirable to facilitatethe creation of a unique ID for each P/S Broker 1304 instance that isdeployed in the APN LTE Network. In the present disclosure, when theIPBDR_(PGW) 4402 or when an IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 initializes, it may beprovided with the ID assigned to the Optimization Server 304 or 308,respectively, on which it runs. The processor type (i.e.,OptServer_(PGW) 304 or OptServer_(eNB) 308) may also be provided to theinitializing program, so it may determine whether to register with theWireless Control Process 3902 for the purpose of collecting data relatedto the transport of user packets via a redirected bearer 312. TheIPBDR_(eNB) 4404 programs may register with the Wireless Control Process3902, as shown in FIG. 45.

Meanwhile, the Wireless Control Process 3902 may have provisioning datathat associates each P/S Broker 1304 instance on each OptServer_(eNB)308 and on the OptServer_(PGW) 304 with an associated eNB 102 element,or a PGW 114 element, respectively, for the purpose of assigning a P/SBroker 1304 to a UE 104 for communications using a dedicated bearer. TheStartServices message and the ResumeSession message in FIG. 4, FIG. 6,FIG. 39, FIG. 40, and FIG. 41 show this assignment of the P/S Broker1304 IP address and port number to the UE 104. The provisioning data atthe Wireless Control Process 3902 for each P/S Broker 1304 instance maynow also include the server ID. Doing so may enable the Wireless ControlProcess 3902 to associate a registered IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 program with aUE 104 IMSI and the P/S Broker ID or IP and port number information.

Once these associations are made, FIG. 45 shows that whenever a UE 104bearer 312 is redirected to the OptServer_(eNB) 308 that hosts theIPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance, the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance receives fromthe Wireless Control Process 3902 the UE 104 IMSI, plus the IP addressand Port number of the P/S Broker 1304 to which the UE 104 connects viathe redirected bearer, plus the IP address assigned to the UE 104 (theUE 104 IP address may be included in the Register and RegisterUpdatemessages that the UE 104 sends to the Wireless Control Process 3902; seethe Register and RegisterUpdate messages in FIG. 39 and FIG. 40). SeeFIG. 39, FIG. 40, and FIG. 41 for the LTE processing situations in whicha dedicated bearer 312 may be redirected for a UE 104.

Once the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance obtains the UE IP address and the IPaddress and port number of the P/S Broker 1304 to which the UE 104connects, FIG. 45 shows that the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 may communicate withthe P/S Broker 1304 instance to inform it to collect billing data forthe UE (via the BrokerStartCollection( ) message), and to cause it totransfer the billing data to the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 program eithercontinuously, or at periodic intervals, or upon command by theIPBDR_(eNB) 4404 program. Because the P/S Broker 1304 instance is in thedirect path of conveyance of packets to and from the UE 104 redirectedbearer 312, all such data can be counted, and the results conveyed bythe P/S Broker 1304 instance to the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance. The datathat may be collected includes the start time and the end time of thebilling data collection, the bearer ID of the redirected bearer 312, thenumber of bytes and packets sent to, and received from, the UE 104 viathe redirected bearer 312, and also a breakout of these numbers intobytes and packets sent and received per Topic. The association of thevalues with a Topic may help to determine whether the data traverses theback haul 112 network, or whether the data is being exchanged with areal time service, such as an interactive game, that requires very lowdelay. Different billing policies may then be applied to the usage datawhen the data is differentiated by the Topic used to convey the data viathe P/S Broker 1304 communications.

The analysis of the Topic-based usage data to determine whether the backhaul 112 is used, or to determine whether a different billing policyshould apply because low delay is provided to the data transport by theproximity of the OptServer_(eNB) 308 to the user 104 access point, maybe most conveniently provided by the Central IP Billing Data Collection4410 program. The program 4410 may be provisioned with information thatrelates the Topics used in the APN LTE Network to other information thatmay be used to determine billing policies that may apply to thecollected data. Subsequently, the billing data may be reported by theCentral IP Billing Data Collection 4410 program to the billing systemused by the APN LTE Network Operator.

FIG. 45 shows, in addition, that when a Handover occurs, theResumeSession( ) message is sent to the UE 102. In this case, theOptServer_(eNB) 308 element is changed from one at the source eNB 102location to one at the target eNB 102 location. The explicit messageinteraction to start billing data collection at the target location isshown via the StartDataCollection( ) message. It is also the case thatbilling data collection for the redirected bearer at the source locationmust be ended, and any unreported data may now be reported to theCentral IP Billing Data Collection 4410 program. FIG. 45 shows that theWireless Control Process 3902 may send the StopDataCollection( ) messageto the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance at the source location to cause a finalreporting from that program to the Central IP Billing Data Collection4410 program, to cause the P/S Broker 1304 at that location to ceasedata collection for the UE 102, and to remove context data for the UE102 at the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance at the source location. Theselatter interactions are not shown in FIG. 45, but may be understood bythose skilled in the art to take place as described herein.

The StopDataCollection( ) message is shown in FIG. 45 to indicate howbilling data collection for a UE 102 redirected bearer 312 is stoppedduring a Handover, when the UE 102 moves away from the source locationwhere the redirected bearer 312 was formerly terminated. Data collectionalso needs to be stopped when the UE 102 transitions from theECM-CONNECTED state to the ECM-IDLE state, and also when the UE isdetached from the LTE network. The interactions that may be used toimplement this behavior are shown in FIG. 46 for the case of transitionto ECM-IDLE, and in FIG. 47 for the case when the UE 102 is detachedfrom the LTE network.

The transition of a UE 104 from the ECM-ACTIVE state to the ECM-IDLEstate is shown in Section 5.3.5 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0. The LTE procedureis called the S1 Release procedure. The 3GPP specification shows thatthe UE 104 may, or may not, be involved in the S1 Release messageinteractions, but that the MME 108 entity is always involved. FIGS. 25,26, 27, 28, 29, and 30 show that the MME 108 entity may be connected tothe P/S Broker 1304 middleware in an APN LTE Network, and thus may beused to facilitate the notification of the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instancewhen a UE 104 transitions to the ECM-IDLE state. FIG. 46 shows how theLTE S1 Release procedure may be extended for the MME 108 element toenable the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance that currently collects theredirected bearer 312 data usage for the UE 104 to be informed by theMME 108 when the UE 104 transitions to the ECM-IDLE state. EachIPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance may Subscribe to the Topic “IPBDR/<IMSI>” whenit first starts collecting usage data for a particular UE 104 IMSI,i.e., when it receives the StartDataCollection( ) message from theWireless Control Process 3902 (see FIG. 45). As shown in FIG. 46, whenthe MME 108 receives the UE S1 Context Release Complete message from theeNB 102 that previously served the UE 104, the UE 104 is no longerconnected to the LTE network via any eNB 102 element. The MME 108 maythen Publish the StopDataCollection(IMSI) message to the Topic“IPBDR/<IMSI>,” so it is received only by the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instancethat serves that IMSI. The IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instance may then send anyremaining usage data for the UE 104 to the Central IP Billing DataCollection 4410 program, interact with the local P/S Broker 1304instance to have it stop collecting usage data for the UE 104, removethe UE 104 context data from the IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 memory, andUnSubscribe from the Topic “IPBDR/<IMSI>.”

The LTE procedures used to Detach a UE 104 from the LTE network arespecified in Section 5.4.8 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0. Three situations maypertain to the current disclosure, namely, the UE-Initiated DetachProcedure specified in Section 5.3.8.2 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0, theMME-Initiated Detach Procedure specified in Section 5.3.8.3 of TS 23.401v9.4.0, and the HSS-Initiated Detach Procedure specified in Section5.3.8.4 of TS 23.401 v9.4.0. Several points in the procedures may beused by the MME 108 to Publish the StopDataCollection(IMSI) message tothe IPBDReNB 4404 instance in the first two situations. One is when theMME 108 receives the LTE Delete Session Response message from the SGW110; the other is when the S1 Release Procedure completes with thereception by the MME 108 of the S1 UE Context Release Complete message(see FIGS. 5.3.8.2-1 and 5.8.3.3-1 in TS 23.401 v9.4.0). If the S1Release Procedure occurs in these interactions, the preferred point forthe MME 108 to Publish the StopDataCollection( ) message may be at theend of that part of the Detach procedure. Otherwise, the MME 108 mayPublish the StopDataCollection( ) message when it receives the LTEDelete Session Response message from the SGW 110. When the Detach is anHSS-initiated Detach Procedure, the MME 108 may Publish theStopDataCollection( ) message preferably after the S1 Release portion ofthe Detach procedure completes, but alternatively, when the MME 108sends the LTE Cancel Location Ack message to the HSS 120. See FIG. 47.

Note that although FIG. 45, FIG. 46, and FIG. 47 show the messageinteractions using the facilities of the P/S Broker 1304 middleware, thedescriptions provided herein do not include a complete set of Topicsthat may be used for these exchanges. The previous paragraphs and thepreceding sections of this disclosure has included teachings as to howthe Topics may be constructed to provide effective communications amongall the participating entities, and those skilled in the art may be ableto apply these teachings to the message exchanges in the currentdisclosure.

In addition to collecting and reporting the usage data that traverses aredirected bearer 312 associated with a particular UE 104, theIPBDR_(eNB) 4404 programs, and likewise, the IPBDR_(PGW) 4402 program,may also report billing data for the resource usage that occurs on theirprocessing node. In one embodiment of this capability, these programinstances may periodically obtain data collected by the operating systemfor their computing node. Typically, these programs may collect the sizeof program text and .bss (i.e., RAM memory) used by each Service Program4408 shown in FIG. 44. The usage data thus collected may be Published tothe Central IP Billing Data Collection program 4410 for aggregation,deposition into a database, and for sending to the LTE Network billingsystem.

To obtain the number of bytes of permanent storage used by ServiceProgram 4408 instances, and the amount of time used for permanentstorage of Service Program 4408 data, the IPBDR_(PGW) 4402 and theIPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instances may use an interface to the local disk systemthat is constructed to provide this information to these billing datacollection programs. For example, the disk or permanent memory systemmay be segmented, so Service Program 4408 data is stored in one or moreparticular segments. The IPBDR_(PGW) 4402 instance and the IPBDR_(eNB)4404 instances may register on their respective Optimization Server 304and 308 processors to receive notifications whenever these segments arechanged. An agreement with the Service Program 4408 providers may benecessary to allow tagging of the stored data with an ID that identifiesthe provider of the Service Program 4408 for which data is being stored.With this type of arrangement, it may be seen that the IPBDR_(PGW) 4402and IPBDR_(eNB) 4404 instances may collect permanent storage usage datafor particular billable entities. This usage data may include the numberof bytes stored, the start time, end time, or duration of the storage,the node on which the data is stored, number of accesses to a specifiedstored item per hour of each day, and the total number of access to aspecified stored item per day, the average length of time spent by usersin accessing this content item, the total volume of data involved indelivering a specific stored content item using the Back Haul 112, thetotal volume of data involved in delivering a specific content item notusing the Back Haul 112, the number of control messages used indelivering a specified content item per hour of each day. The permanentstorage usage data may then be formatted and Published to the Central IPBilling Data Collection program 4410 for aggregation, deposition into adatabase, and for sending to the LTE Network billing system.

Efficient Reduction of Inter-Cell Interference Using Agile Beams

A problem of note in all wireless networks is the interference presentedto users in one Cell coverage area by the signals transmitted by anadjacent Cell. This interference is called Inter-Cell Interference, andis especially encountered by users who are near the boundary between twoadjacent Cells. See FIG. 48, which shows two adjacent Cells modeled ashexagonal areas 4802, where the solid dot represents the antenna thatgenerates the RF signal 4808 for the Cell. The RF signal 4808 from eachCell necessarily overlaps the coverage area of the adjacent Cell, forotherwise, RF coverage holes result. The areas 4804 where the RF signalsoverlap are the areas in which Inter-Cell Interference occurs. Becauseof the interference, the data rates offered to users located in the Cellboundary area 4804 may be reduced, and hence the Cell capacity andthroughput, as well as the user experience, may be impacted in anegative way. In an LTE Wireless Network, users are assignedsub-carriers on which to transmit or receive their data. Thesub-carriers are designed in the standards to be orthogonal, so thatusers assigned to one set of sub-carriers observe no interference fromthe transmissions for other users who are assigned a different set ofsub-carriers. However, near the Cell boundary, each of two adjacentCells may assign the same set of sub-carriers to users in its respectiveCell boundary area 4804, which is part of its Cell coverage area 712. Inthis case, each of these users may be interfered with by thetransmissions in the adjacent Cell that use the same sub-carriers as areassigned to the given user.

Techniques for reducing or eliminating this Inter-Cell Interference havelong been sought. Current techniques for LTE may include dividing theband of sub-carriers into subsets, such that one subset of sub-carriersis assigned only to users near a boundary of the serving Cell, while thesecond subset is assigned to users located in the interior of theserving Cell. The subsets may be arranged in each of a set of adjacentCells such that different subsets of sub-carriers are used at theboundary of these Cells. While this technique mitigates the Inter-CellInterference problem, the technique leads to a reduction in overall Cellthroughput and to a reduced individual user data rate, because only asubset of all the available sub-carriers is made available forassignment to any user.

Another technique currently being explored may be to have adjacent Cellscommunicate with one another in real time to announce the set ofsub-carriers that it will assign to a user located in the boundary 4804of its Cell coverage area 712. This technique may allow the use of theentire set of sub-carriers by any user, but may result in extracommunications between base stations to coordinate their use of theavailable set of sub-carriers. This technique results in not being ableto assign sub-carriers to users at the Cell boundary of one Cell, if thesub-carriers are being assigned to users at the Cell boundary of anadjacent Cell. Hence, Cell throughput and individual user data rates maybe impacted negatively. This technique is referred to as Inter-CellInterference Coordination.

The present disclosure uses neither of the above techniques. Rather, itmay exploit the use of Agile Beam Forming discussed earlier in thisdisclosure. In a given one millisecond interval, a Cell with Agile BeamForming generates a set of RF beams 902 (e.g., four beams) that covers asubset of the total Cell coverage area 712. A different set of (four) RFbeams 902 is generated in each of four one millisecond intervals in anLTE FDD system, such that the sixteen RF beams 902 so generated span theentire Cell coverage area 712. In the fifth millisecond, the first setof RF beams 902 is generated again, followed by the second set of RFbeams 902 in the sixth millisecond, etc., and the rotation of the AgileBeams may continue to sweep over the Cell coverage area with aperiodicity of four milliseconds. An example of a set of sixteen AgileBeams 902 covering the area 712 of an FDD LTE Cell is shown in FIG. 9.

Using the hexagonal model for a Cell coverage area 712, FIG. 49 shows anexample arrangement of sixteen RF beam areas 902 that collectively spanthe Cell coverage area 712. FIG. 49 shows the set of sixteen RF beam 902areas grouped into four sets of four RF beam areas 902 that are used tospan the Cell coverage area 712, where the sub-areas belonging to thesame set are shaded in the same way. All sub-areas with the same shadingare covered by RF beams generated in the same one millisecond interval.It may be noted in FIG. 49 that the RF beams 902 cannot be contained tothe sub-areas shown, but spill over to some degree into adjacentsub-areas, and likewise spill over at the Cell boundary to the sub-areasof adjacent Cells. By using a large set of antennas to generate theAgile Beams, the spill-over into adjacent sub-areas may be minimized,because the RF beams 902 may be better focused, and the RF signal levelof a particular beam 902 may be attenuated rapidly outside the sub-areaof its intended coverage. Note in FIG. 49 that the sub-areas 902 thatare generated in any single one millisecond interval are, in general,separated by one or more sub-areas 902 in the same Cell. Hence, in anyone millisecond interval, the use of Agile Beam forming allows the samesub-carriers to be assigned to users in the same Cell (to up to fourusers), but who are located in different sub-areas 902. The Cellcapacity and throughput, as well as the maximum data rate that may beassigned to any user, may be greatly increased compared with a Cell thatdoes not use Agile Beam forming.

It may therefore be noted that if the RF beam 902 rotations in adjacentCells can be arranged such that the RF beams 902 covering adjacentsub-areas in adjacent Cells are not generated in the same onemillisecond interval, the Inter-Cell Interference problem may be solvedwithout resorting to additional communications, and without resorting tolimiting the set of sub-carriers that may be assigned to users.

Establishing Non-Adjacent RF Beam Patterns in the Cells of the Same LTEBase Station

This disclosure presents the case where the same sets of four RF beamsub-areas 902 are generated in each Cell, although not necessarily atthe same time in each Cell. It should be noted that if the sixteen RFbeams 902 are arranged in a pattern in which only one, two, or three RFbeams 902 cover any boundary 4804 of the Cell, then it may be possibleto arrange the beam rotations in adjacent Cells such that no twoadjacent RF beam 902 sub-areas are generated in the same one millisecondinterval. However, if the pattern of the RF beam sub-areas results intheir being four or more RF beam 902 sub-areas at any Cell boundary4804, it may not be possible to choose a beam rotation in each Cellwithout causing two or more adjacent sub-areas to be generated in thesame one millisecond interval.

FIG. 50 shows the case for a base station that supports three Cells. Theantennas of the base station system are located at the solid black dotin FIG. 50, and the three Cells are labeled α1, β1, and γ1. The RF beamarea 902 sub-areas are labeled 1 through 16. The same sets of four RFbeam areas 902 are used in each Cell, and for the RF beam 902 geometryshown in FIG. 50, the same RF beam 902 rotation pattern may be used ineach Cell. Hence, in the first one millisecond interval, each of thethree Cells generates RF beams 902 that cover sub-areas 4, 6, 11, 13 inits respective Cell coverage area 712. These sub-areas are all shadedwith vertical lines in FIG. 50. Note that at the boundary between anytwo Cells, the adjacent sub-area in the adjacent Cell is not beinggenerated in this time interval, and hence, there is no Inter-Cellinterference in this first millisecond of operation.

In the second millisecond of operation, FIG. 50 shows that each Cellgenerates RF beam areas 902 that cover sub-areas 2, 8, 10, and 16 in itsrespective Cell coverage area 712, which are shaded with a dottedpattern. Again, it may be seen that at the boundary between any twoCells, the adjacent sub-areas in the adjacent Cell are not beinggenerated in this time interval. Hence, there is no Inter-CellInterference in the second millisecond of operation.

In the third millisecond of operation, FIG. 50 shows that each Cellgenerates RF beam areas 902 that cover sub-areas 1, 7, 9, 15 in itsrespective Cell coverage area 712, which are shaded with a fine hashedpattern. Again, it may be seen that at the boundary between any twoCells, the adjacent sub-areas in the adjacent Cell are not beinggenerated in this time interval. Hence, there is no Inter-CellInterference in the third millisecond of operation.

In the fourth millisecond of operation, FIG. 50 shows that each Cellgenerates RF beam areas 902 that cover sub-areas 3, 5, 12, 14 in itsrespective Cell coverage area 712, which are shaded with a slanted brickpattern. Again, it may be seen that at the boundary between any twoCells, the adjacent sub-areas in the adjacent Cell are not beinggenerated. Hence, there is no Inter-Cell Interference in the fourthmillisecond of operation.

The first set of RF beam 902 areas, 4, 6, 11, 13, are generated again inthe fifth millisecond of operation, so the pattern of RF beam 902generation repeats again. Thus, it may be seen that the RF beam rotationpattern selected for each Cell in FIG. 50 results in no Inter-CellInterference. No inter-Cell communications or coordination is required,and no restrictions are placed on the LTE sub-carriers that may beassigned to users in any of the RF beam 902 areas in any givenmillisecond of operation. The selection of RF beam 902 sub-areas groupedinto sets of four is not unique, and the rotation pattern shown in FIG.50 is not unique. It may be apparent to those skilled in the art thatother selections of the RF beam 902 sub-areas, and other choices for theRF beam rotation pattern may be selected with the same result of noInter-Cell Interference.

Establishing Non-Adjacent RF Beam Patterns in the Adjacent Cells ofDifferent LTE Base Stations

FIG. 51 expands the result shown in FIG. 50 by adding the adjacent Cellsof neighbor LTE base stations 2, 3, and 4. For the sake of easierunderstanding of the results, FIG. 51 shows only the adjacencies to theCell α1. In this hexagonal representation of a Cell, each Cell has sixsides and hence, each Cell has six adjacent Cells. Two of the adjacentCells, β1 and γ1, are in the same base station system as is α1, and theresults of their RF beam rotation patterns is already shown in FIG. 50.The other Cells that are adjacent to Cell α1 are β2 and γ2 in basestation system 2, Cell β in base station system 3, and Cell γ4 in basestation system 4, as shown in FIG. 51. The boundaries of Cell α1 areshown in highlight to make it easier to see that there are no adjacentsub-areas being generated at the same time in any two adjacent Cells,i.e., at any boundary 4804 of Cell α1, whenever an RF sub-area is beinggenerated in that Cell, the adjacent sub-area in the adjacent Cell isnot being generated (has a different shading).

FIG. 51 lists the RF beam rotation pattern followed in each of the Cellsβ2 and γ2, and β and γ4 that are adjacent to Cell α1, but not in thesame base station system. Table 9 shows the beam rotation patternschosen for these Cells adjacent to Cell α1, and located in a differentbase station system from Cell α1. It should also be noted in FIG. 51that the adjacent sub-areas at the boundary between Cells γ2 and β2 andat the boundary between Cells γ2 and β3 likewise have different shadingpatterns, thereby indicating that no Inter-Cell Interference occursbetween these Cells. The same conclusion is reached for the boundarybetween Cells β2 and γ4 and for the boundary between Cells β3 and γ1.See FIG. 51.

TABLE 9 Example of Beam Rotation Patterns for Cells Adjacent to a GivenCell, but in a Different Base Station System Base Station System CellRotation Pattern 1 α1 msec 1: 4, 6, 11, 13 msec 2: 2, 8, 10, 16 msec 3:1, 7, 9, 15 msec 4: 3, 5, 12, 14 2 β2 msec 1: 4, 6, 11, 13 msec 2: 2, 8,10, 16 msec 3: 3, 5, 12, 14 msec 4: 1, 7, 9, 15 γ2 msec 1: 4, 6, 11, 13msec 2: 3, 5, 12, 14 msec 3: 2, 8, 10, 16 msec 4: 1, 7, 9, 15 3 β3 msec1: 4, 6, 11, 13 msec 2: 1, 7, 9, 15 msec 3: 3, 5, 12, 14 msec 4: 2, 8,10, 16 4 γ4 msec 1: 4, 6, 11, 13 msec 2: 3, 5, 12, 14 msec 3: 1, 7, 9,15 msec 4: 2, 8, 10, 16

The example of FIG. 51 may be continued to show that when the remainingCells of base station systems 2, 3, and 4 are added, RF beam 902rotation patterns may be selected, so there is again no Inter-CellInterference generated at any boundary of any Cell. This process ofselecting the RF beam 902 rotation pattern may be extended to every basestation system, and to every Cell, in the LTE Wireless Network. FIG. 52shows the result when Cell α2 is added for base station system 2, whenCells α3 and γ3 are added for base station system 3, and when Cells α4and β4 are added for base station system 4. The RF beam 902 rotationpattern is shown for each of these Cells in FIG. 52, and the boundarybetween each pair of adjacent Cells is highlighted to make it easier tosee that no like-shaded sub-areas are adjacent to each other across anyinter-Cell boundary. Thus, Inter-Cell Interference may be avoided whenAgile Beams are used in the LTE wireless system, as disclosed herein.

Arranging for Time Synchronization in Each Cell for RF Beam Generation

FIG. 50, FIG. 51, and FIG. 52 show how Inter-Cell Interference may beavoided in wireless systems employing Agile Beam Forming for systems ofthree Cells in one base station system and in a multiplicity of basestation systems. In each case, the base station systems must maintainthe same notion of a start time, so each Cell is able to determine whichsub-set of RF beam areas 902 must be generated in any given millisecondinterval. The time synchronization across all the Cells must thereforebe precise to a tolerance much less than one millisecond. The RF beam902 patterns repeat in each Cell every four milliseconds, and hence agiven set of four RF beams 902 occurs in the same sub-frame of an LTEframe every twenty milliseconds (i.e., in every other LTE frame). Ifeach Cell is able to determine when the first millisecond of anodd-numbered (or even-numbered) LTE frame occurs, all the Cells maygenerate the correct subset of RF beam 902 patterns in every onemillisecond interval.

There may be at least two approaches to generate the desired result,where no new invention is required for this purpose. The first approachmay be if all the base station systems in the wireless network operateusing GPS for timing. In this case, each base station system may havethe same notion of the current time to a precision better than 20nanoseconds. Each Cell may therefore be synchronized, for example, tostart an odd-numbered LTE frame coincident with a 1-second mark of theGPS timing system. (Each LTE frame is 10 milliseconds in duration.) IfGPS is not available to any, or to all, the base station systems in theLTE network, then the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) specified in theIEEE 1588 standard may be used. A master clock that is part of an IEEE1588 timing system may be synchronized to GPS time, for example, andprecise timing information may be distributed to each base stationsystem in the LTE network, synchronized to the master clock. Here, as inthe use of GPS timing, each Cell may then, for example, synchronize itsodd-numbered LTE frame with a 1-second mark of the IEEE 1588 system. Theprecision obtained may be much better than one millisecond, and hence,may be used for the purpose of synchronizing the LTE Cells in theirgeneration of the RF beam 902 patterns.

While only a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that manychanges and modifications may be made thereunto without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure as described in thefollowing claims. All patent applications and patents, both foreign anddomestic, and all other publications referenced herein are incorporatedherein in their entireties to the full extent permitted by law.

The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or inwhole through a machine that executes computer software, program codes,and/or instructions on a processor. The present disclosure may beimplemented as a method on the machine, as a system or apparatus as partof or in relation to the machine, or as a computer program productembodied in a computer readable medium executing on one or more of themachines. The processor may be part of a server, client, networkinfrastructure, mobile computing platform, stationary computingplatform, or other computing platform. A processor may be any kind ofcomputational or processing device capable of executing programinstructions, codes, binary instructions and the like. The processor maybe or include a signal processor, digital processor, embedded processor,microprocessor or any variant such as a co-processor (math co-processor,graphic co-processor, communication co-processor and the like) and thelike that may directly or indirectly facilitate execution of programcode or program instructions stored thereon. In addition, the processormay enable execution of multiple programs, threads, and codes. Thethreads may be executed simultaneously to enhance the performance of theprocessor and to facilitate simultaneous operations of the application.By way of implementation, methods, program codes, program instructionsand the like described herein may be implemented in one or more thread.The thread may spawn other threads that may have assigned prioritiesassociated with them; the processor may execute these threads based onpriority or any other order based on instructions provided in theprogram code. The processor may include memory that stores methods,codes, instructions and programs as described herein and elsewhere. Theprocessor may access a storage medium through an interface that maystore methods, codes, and instructions as described herein andelsewhere. The storage medium associated with the processor for storingmethods, programs, codes, program instructions or other type ofinstructions capable of being executed by the computing or processingdevice may include but may not be limited to one or more of a CD-ROM,DVD, memory, hard disk, flash drive, RAM, ROM, cache and the like.

A processor may include one or more cores that may enhance speed andperformance of a multiprocessor. In embodiments, the process may be adual core processor, quad core processors, other chip-levelmultiprocessor and the like that combine two or more independent cores(called a die).

The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or inwhole through a machine that executes computer software on a server,client, firewall, gateway, hub, router, or other such computer and/ornetworking hardware. The software program may be associated with aserver that may include a file server, print server, domain server,internet server, intranet server and other variants such as secondaryserver, host server, distributed server and the like. The server mayinclude one or more of memories, processors, computer readable media,storage media, ports (physical and virtual), communication devices, andinterfaces capable of accessing other servers, clients, machines, anddevices through a wired or a wireless medium, and the like. The methods,programs, or codes as described herein and elsewhere may be executed bythe server. In addition, other devices required for execution of methodsas described in this application may be considered as a part of theinfrastructure associated with the server.

The server may provide an interface to other devices including, withoutlimitation, clients, other servers, printers, database servers, printservers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers andthe like. Additionally, this coupling and/or connection may facilitateremote execution of program across the network. The networking of someor all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a programor method at one or more location without deviating from the scope ofthe disclosure. In addition, any of the devices attached to the serverthrough an interface may include at least one storage medium capable ofstoring methods, programs, code and/or instructions. A centralrepository may provide program instructions to be executed on differentdevices. In this implementation, the remote repository may act as astorage medium for program code, instructions, and programs.

The software program may be associated with a client that may include afile client, print client, domain client, internet client, intranetclient and other variants such as secondary client, host client,distributed client and the like. The client may include one or more ofmemories, processors, computer readable media, storage media, ports(physical and virtual), communication devices, and interfaces capable ofaccessing other clients, servers, machines, and devices through a wiredor a wireless medium, and the like. The methods, programs, or codes asdescribed herein and elsewhere may be executed by the client. Inaddition, other devices required for execution of methods as describedin this application may be considered as a part of the infrastructureassociated with the client.

The client may provide an interface to other devices including, withoutlimitation, servers, other clients, printers, database servers, printservers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers andthe like. Additionally, this coupling and/or connection may facilitateremote execution of program across the network. The networking of someor all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a programor method at one or more location without deviating from the scope ofthe disclosure. In addition, any of the devices attached to the clientthrough an interface may include at least one storage medium capable ofstoring methods, programs, applications, code and/or instructions. Acentral repository may provide program instructions to be executed ondifferent devices. In this implementation, the remote repository may actas a storage medium for program code, instructions, and programs.

The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or inwhole through network infrastructures. The network infrastructure mayinclude elements such as computing devices, servers, routers, hubs,firewalls, clients, personal computers, communication devices, routingdevices and other active and passive devices, modules and/or componentsas known in the art. The computing and/or non-computing device(s)associated with the network infrastructure may include, apart from othercomponents, a storage medium such as flash memory, buffer, stack, RAM,ROM and the like. The processes, methods, program codes, instructionsdescribed herein and elsewhere may be executed by one or more of thenetwork infrastructural elements.

The methods, program codes, and instructions described herein andelsewhere may be implemented on a cellular network having multiplecells. The cellular network may either be frequency division multipleaccess (FDMA) network or code division multiple access (CDMA) network.The cellular network may include mobile devices, cell sites, basestations, repeaters, antennas, towers, and the like. The cell networkmay be a GSM, GPRS, 3G, EVDO, mesh, or other networks types.

The methods, programs codes, and instructions described herein andelsewhere may be implemented on or through mobile devices. The mobiledevices may include navigation devices, cell phones, mobile phones,mobile personal digital assistants, laptops, palmtops, netbooks, pagers,electronic books readers, music players and the like. These devices mayinclude, apart from other components, a storage medium such as a flashmemory, buffer, RAM, ROM and one or more computing devices. Thecomputing devices associated with mobile devices may be enabled toexecute program codes, methods, and instructions stored thereon.Alternatively, the mobile devices may be configured to executeinstructions in collaboration with other devices. The mobile devices maycommunicate with base stations interfaced with servers and configured toexecute program codes. The mobile devices may communicate on apeer-to-peer network, mesh network, or other communications network. Theprogram code may be stored on the storage medium associated with theserver and executed by a computing device embedded within the server.The base station may include a computing device and a storage medium.The storage device may store program codes and instructions executed bythe computing devices associated with the base station.

The computer software, program codes, and/or instructions may be storedand/or accessed on machine readable media that may include: computercomponents, devices, and recording media that retain digital data usedfor computing for some interval of time; semiconductor storage known asrandom access memory (RAM); mass storage typically for more permanentstorage, such as optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like harddisks, tapes, drums, cards and other types; processor registers, cachememory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory; optical storage such asCD, DVD; removable media such as flash memory (e.g. USB sticks or keys),floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punch cards, standalone RAMdisks, Zip drives, removable mass storage, off-line, and the like; othercomputer memory such as dynamic memory, static memory, read/writestorage, mutable storage, read only, random access, sequential access,location addressable, file addressable, content addressable, networkattached storage, storage area network, bar codes, magnetic ink, and thelike.

The methods and systems described herein may transform physical and/oror intangible items from one state to another. The methods and systemsdescribed herein may also transform data representing physical and/orintangible items from one state to another.

The elements described and depicted herein, including in flow charts andblock diagrams throughout the figures, imply logical boundaries betweenthe elements. However, according to software or hardware engineeringpractices, the depicted elements and the functions thereof may beimplemented on machines through computer executable media having aprocessor capable of executing program instructions stored thereon as amonolithic software structure, as standalone software modules, or asmodules that employ external routines, code, services, and so forth, orany combination of these, and all such implementations may be within thescope of the present disclosure. Examples of such machines may include,but may not be limited to, personal digital assistants, laptops,personal computers, mobile phones, other handheld computing devices,medical equipment, wired or wireless communication devices, transducers,chips, calculators, satellites, tablet PCs, electronic books, gadgets,electronic devices, devices having artificial intelligence, computingdevices, networking equipments, servers, routers and the like.Furthermore, the elements depicted in the flow chart and block diagramsor any other logical component may be implemented on a machine capableof executing program instructions. Thus, while the foregoing drawingsand descriptions set forth functional aspects of the disclosed systems,no particular arrangement of software for implementing these functionalaspects should be inferred from these descriptions unless explicitlystated or otherwise clear from the context. Similarly, it will beappreciated that the various steps identified and described above may bevaried, and that the order of steps may be adapted to particularapplications of the techniques disclosed herein. All such variations andmodifications are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.As such, the depiction and/or description of an order for various stepsshould not be understood to require a particular order of execution forthose steps, unless required by a particular application, or explicitlystated or otherwise clear from the context.

The methods and/or processes described above, and steps thereof, may berealized in hardware, software or any combination of hardware andsoftware suitable for a particular application. The hardware may includea general-purpose computer and/or dedicated computing device or specificcomputing device or particular aspect or component of a specificcomputing device. The processes may be realized in one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers,programmable digital signal processors or other programmable device,along with internal and/or external memory. The processes may also, orinstead, be embodied in an application specific integrated circuit, aprogrammable gate array, programmable array logic, or any other deviceor combination of devices that may be configured to process electronicsignals. It will further be appreciated that one or more of theprocesses may be realized as a computer executable code capable of beingexecuted on a machine-readable medium.

The computer executable code may be created using a structuredprogramming language such as C, an object oriented programming languagesuch as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming language(including assembly languages, hardware description languages, anddatabase programming languages and technologies) that may be stored,compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well asheterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, orcombinations of different hardware and software, or any other machinecapable of executing program instructions.

Thus, in one aspect, each method described above and combinationsthereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executingon one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof. In anotheraspect, the methods may be embodied in systems that perform the stepsthereof, and may be distributed across devices in a number of ways, orall of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalonedevice or other hardware. In another aspect, the means for performingthe steps associated with the processes described above may include anyof the hardware and/or software described above. All such permutationsand combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

While the disclosure has been disclosed in connection with the preferredembodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications andimprovements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled inthe art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present disclosure isnot to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is to be understood inthe broadest sense allowable by law.

All documents referenced herein are hereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a plurality of hostcomputers, each host computer adapted to run at least one of a pluralityof publish-subscribe broker communications facilities, wherein theplurality of publish-subscribe broker communications facilities areinter-connected to form a publish-subscribe broker network; and aplurality of (N+1) matching service instances, where N is a positiveinteger greater than zero, and where N service instances are designatedas active service instances, and one service instance is designated as astandby service instance, wherein each of the plurality of (N+1)matching service instances is hosted on a different one of the pluralityof host computers; wherein each of the N active service instancesconnects to a corresponding one of the publish-subscribe brokercommunications facilities in the publish-subscribe broker network andutilizes the publish-subscribe broker network to provide service to atleast one client device of a plurality of client devices, where each ofthe plurality of client devices receiving service from a correspondingone of the N active service instances interacts with that serviceinstance via a connection that each client device has with acorresponding publish-subscribe broker communications facility in thepublish-subscribe broker network, and wherein the standby serviceinstance connects to a corresponding one of the publish-subscribe brokercommunications facilities in the publish-subscribe broker network, andutilizes the publish-subscribe broker network to maintain applicationstate information that corresponds to the application state informationof each of the active service instances by subscribing to receive thesame communications as is received by each of the active serviceinstances for which the standby service instance is acting as a standbyreplacement instance; and wherein the standby service instance uses theservices of the publish-subscribe broker network to maintain acommunication with each of the N active service instances for which itis acting as the standby replacement instance to determine the abilityof each of the active service instances to provide service, and further,when the standby service instance detects that one of the N activeservice instances can no longer provide its service, the standby serviceinstance takes the role of providing the application service to theplurality of client devices that currently receive the service from theactive service instance that is being replaced.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the plurality of host computers is located in the Internet.3. The system of claim 1, wherein the standby service instancesubscribes to the same service topics as does each of the active serviceinstances, so the standby service instance receives the sameservice-specific messages as does each of the active service instancesthat it is poised to replace, and wherein when a service-specificmessage is received from one of the plurality of client devices thatuses the service provided by a specific one of the plurality of activeservice instances, the standby service instance performs identicalprocessing to that performed by the specific one of the active serviceinstances, and generates the same state information as is generated bythe specific one of the active service instances, and wherein while thespecific one of the active service instances of the plurality of activeservice instances publishes service-specific messages to the clientdevices that use the service of the specific active service instance,the standby service instance does not publish service-specific messagesto those client devices that receive the service from any of theplurality of active service instances.
 4. The system of claim 3, whereinthe standby service instance maintains state information for eachspecific client device that uses the service of the specific activeservice instance and also maintains an association of the stateinformation for a specific client device with the specific one of theactive service instances that currently provides the service to thespecific client device.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein a failure inan active service instance is detected by the standby service instance,and wherein the standby service instance promotes itself to the activestate when the failure is detected, and then allows itself to publishservice-specific messages, and hence continues service for all clientdevices that previously were provided service by the failed activeservice instance.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein when the standbyservice instance promotes itself to the active state, it unsubscribesfrom all service topics used by all active service instances except forthe active service instance that the standby instance is replacing andwherein all state information kept by the standby service instance forall client devices that were provided service by the active serviceinstance that is being replaced is retained by the standby serviceinstance, while all state information kept by the standby serviceinstance for all client devices that are provided service by the otheractive service instances is deleted from the standby service instance.7. The system of claim 3, wherein when a failure occurs in an activeservice instance, the service being provided to client devices of thefailed active service instance continues without interruption, exceptfor interactions that are started but which are not completed when theactive service instance fails, and which would have been completed in aninterval of time that is shorter than the time taken by the standbyservice instance to detect the failure and promote itself to the activestate.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein no processing overhead occursin an active service instance to maintain the same application stateinformation in the standby service instance.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the communication between the standby service instance and eachof the active service instances of the plurality of active serviceinstances consists of an exchange of a KeepAlive message sent by thestandby service instance, and a KeepAliveResponse message sent in replyby any service instance that receives the KeepAlive message, whereineach message contains an instance identifier (ID) unique to the serviceinstance that sends the message, plus the current state of the sendingservice instance.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein when a serviceinstance of the plurality of service instances initializes, and beforeit determines whether it is to be the standby service instance or anactive service instance, it publishes a KeepAlive message, so all otherservice instances can receive the message and return a KeepAliveResponseto the initializing instance, and wherein, depending on the stateindicated in the KeepAliveResponse message received by the initializingservice instance, the initializing service instance becomes either thestandby service instance, or an active service instance.
 11. The systemof claim 10, wherein if a first initializing service instance receives aKeepAliveResponse indicating another initializing service instance, thefirst initializing service instance compares its instance ID with theinstance ID received in the KeepAliveResponse message to determinewhether it should be the standby or the active service instance.
 12. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein an initializing service instance sets itsstate to standby if it receives KeepAliveResponse messages either from Nactive service instances, or from fewer than N active service instancesand with no KeepAliveResponse messages indicating a standby serviceinstance or an initializing service instance.
 13. The system of claim10, wherein an initializing service instance sets its state to active ifit receives a KeepAliveResponse message from a service instance in thestandby state.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein if a first standbyservice instance receives a KeepAliveResponse message from anotherstandby service instance, the first standby service instance comparesits instance ID with the instance ID received in the KeepAliveResponsemessage to determine whether it should remain as the standby serviceinstance, or change its state to become an active service instance. 15.The system of claim 9, wherein the standby service instance periodicallypublishes a KeepAlive message that is received by all of the activeservice instances, and wherein if an active service instance does notrespond by publishing a KeepAliveResponse message in a successive numberof KeepAlive message intervals, the standby service instance promotesitself to the active state, removes all state information for clientdevices that receive the service from an active service instance that isnot the one being replaced, cancels all subscriptions to service topicsused by each active service instance that is not the one being replaced,and allows itself to publish service-specific messages to the clientdevices that have been receiving the service from the replaced activeservice instance.
 16. The system of claim 15, where the period forpublishing successive KeepAlive messages by the standby service instanceis a configured, or a provisioned, parameter of the system, and furtherwhere the number of intervals without a KeepAliveResponse used todetermine the failure of an active service instance is a configured, ora provisioned, parameter of the system.
 17. The system of claim 1,wherein N is equal to 1, so there is one active service instance and astandby service instance.
 18. A method, comprising: providing aplurality of host computers, each host computer adapted to run at leastone of a plurality of publish-subscribe broker communicationsfacilities, wherein the plurality of publish-subscribe brokercommunications facilities are inter-connected to form apublish-subscribe broker network; providing a plurality of (N+1)matching service instances, where N is a positive integer greater thanzero, and where N service instances are designated as active serviceinstances, and one service instance is designated as a standby serviceinstance, wherein each of the (N+1) matching service instances is hostedon a different one of the plurality of host computers; wherein each ofthe N active service instances connects to a corresponding one of thepublish-subscribe broker communications facilities in thepublish-subscribe broker network and utilizes the publish-subscribebroker network to provide service to at least one client device of aplurality of client devices, where each of the plurality of clientdevices receiving service from a corresponding one of the N activeservice instances interacts with that service instance via a connectionthat each client device has with a corresponding publish-subscribebroker communications facility in the publish-subscribe broker network,and wherein the standby service instance connects to a corresponding oneof the publish-subscribe broker communications facilities in thepublish-subscribe broker network, and utilizes the publish-subscribebroker network to maintain application state information thatcorresponds to the application state information of each of the activeservice instances by subscribing to receive the same communications asis received by each of the active service instances for which thestandby service instance is acting as a standby replacement instance;and wherein the standby service instance uses the services of thepublish-subscribe broker network to maintain a communication with eachof the N active service instances for which it is acting as the standbyreplacement instance to determine the ability of each of the activeservice instances to provide service, and further, when the standbyservice instance detects that one of the N active service instances canno longer provide its service, the standby service instance takes therole of providing the application service to the plurality of clientdevices that currently receive the service from the active serviceinstance that is being replaced.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein Nis equal to 1, so there is one active service instance and one standbyservice instance.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein N is equal to 2,so there are two active service instances and one standby serviceinstance.